A little over a week ago, Lainey said "Lainey sleepy." So we walked up the stairs for bed and instead of hanging a left into mom and dad's room, she went to the right and walked into her room. I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed and she replied with "Yes, Momma!"
So she did.
I laid down with her, we read a book, watched a cartoon, fought about laying down in her big girl bed, and then she fell asleep.
Sounds like sweet dreams, right?
Well, truth be told, transitioning a toddler out of your bed and into their own is kind of like having an infant again. I don't know how often Lainey used to wake up in the middle of night when she was in our bed because if she woke up, she would roll over and I would be there. But now... if she wakes up, I am not there. So, she screams for me and in order for her to go back to sleep, she has to know that I am there. Kind of sweet.... until it happens 2 or 3 times in one night. Almost every night.
The "problem" is that Lainey doesn't have a special lovey or blankey that she can't live without. There isn't one stuffed friend or one soft blanket that can make life perfect for her. Instead, she has an odd attachment to having her hands in my hair. And a doll's won't do - trust me - I have tried.
But I have not caved. Even at 2:30 am when the easiest thing to do is say, "Ok fine - come sleep with us" I haven't done it. Even last night when teething pain coupled with a couple of boo boos caused her to wake up almost every 90 minutes, I didn't cave! I don't think I can I just let her back into my bed. I feel like I have come too far and lost too many hours of sleep to give us now! Admittedly, this weekend, I have let her into our bed BUT only after the 5am mark! I figure if you make it to 5am then you have had a night in the big girl bed.
So, what do I do instead? I drink lots of coffee (or diet coke). And I make a HUGE deal about sleeping in our big girl bed every morning and even when I am dead tired, I make it a point to tell her how proud I am of her as she falls back to sleep.
I have also taken to prizes if she goes more than a couple of days. So far, she has earned some Cars figures (Mater and some purple girl) and a new monster truck!
Sweet Baby J must have been reading the draft of this post (as I started it last week) and answered my prayers! *knock on wood* Lainey told me she was sleepy last night, that she wanted her big girl bed, and fell asleep WITHOUT my hair! I put it in a ponytail so she couldn't get it and convinced her that her baby doll needed her hair rubbed instead. Then I noticed she was twirling her own hair!
*cue the happy dance*
That's right! She is figuring out she has enough hair on that little head to twirl her own!
But that's not even the BIG NEWS! The big big news is that she did it! She slept in that big girl all night long without waking up... or if she did wake up, she put herself back to sleep without screaming for me.
Now, let's just hope we can do it another night in a row...
and another... and another.
and another... and another.
xoxo,
Linda
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