Okay, so I hate it when my kids struggle with sleep times. Monkey still struggles with it a lot of nights - he just can't relax his body to go to sleep - even when he lays still and tries really hard, it takes a long time.
Crackers has always been a very good sleeper. That is, until about a week ago. Suddenly he has decided that it is better to be awake than asleep. He climbs out of his bed repeatedly - at nap time and bed time. He cries and screams and carries on.. some nights this has lasted for a couple of hours. THEN he started waking up in the middle of the night and needing extra attention.
Last night, Mr. Crum went out with "the guys". I got to put the boys to bed by myself. This is the first time I've done this since Crackers decided he doesn't like sleep. I was tired and did not want to deal with the fits. Mean mommy shut the gate at the top of his bedroom stairs, and let him cry. Yep. Mean.. after a while he started yelling, "Help me mommy."... I thought maybe he wanted help to get back into bed. I was wrong. I went up to help him and put him into bed. The screaming went on.. he climbed out, but could not get down the stairs. He wore himself out at the top of the stairs, laying against the gate on the floor. He was asleep.
This afternoon it only took about 10 minutes for him to settle down after he discovered the locked gate. I feel like we have improvement. I hope it's not just a crazy fluke! Either way, it is quiet in my house right now. Ahh, blessed nap time!
I hate letting them cry... but maybe sometimes that's what it takes to help them learn rules and boundaries.
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