So I wrote about my horrible break up with the afternoon nap. Well, it wasn’t a break up – it wasn’t mutual. The jackass dumped me. But I was still in a rock solid relationship with the bedtime routine. He was the more reliable of the two anyway.
Seriously. I have been blessed with a kid with an easy bedtime routine. There is no drama, there are no tears. He’s fine if he goes to bed at 7pm or 930p – regardless he’ll go down without a fight and stay there.
Lately, our relationship has been getting more lax. Every night for the past month, Will has been coming down and getting in to bed with me in the middle of the night. I used to fight this when he was younger. Now I don’t. He sleeps solidly and doesn’t disturb me – so why not. And in his words yesterday morning when I asked why – ‘because it’s nice to have someone to sleep with – not all alone.’ He’s right.
But last night, the relationship attempted to change again. AND I WON’T HAVE IT. Will had his tub, his two books, his sip of water and the four minute cuddle (everything is four). I went downstairs – had just settled in with my remote, computer and gigantic cookie and I heard him at the top of the stairs. “I not going to sleep mommy. I stay with you.”
WTF! Nooooo. Noooo kid – not going to happen. I’ll give you my entire day and afternoon but I’ll be damned if you’re going to start messing with my evening. I marched him up the stairs and back into his bed. He wasn’t impressed. I didn’t flinch. He cried for 10 minutes until I asked if he wanted to fall asleep with the light on. The answer was yes and he was asleep in two minutes. I only missed the start of the Sing Off.
We talked this morning and he promised to not get out of bed again at bedtime. I’m really hoping it was a one-off….but the panic did set in. I’ll take my easy bedtimes and 6am wakeups over a battle royal and kids who sleep in.
How are your kids? Better yet – how is your husband….read this hilarious bit from The Onion on that!
SO dirty eh Lori – love it!
I’m not as focused on your kid’s bedtime routine as I am on his feet in that picture! HA – the cutest!!!
OMG nip it now – otherwise you will have the house of hell like I do! BAWWWWW joking! No seriously my 5 yr old does not sleep and will finally fall asleep anywhere between 9:30 and 12 – seriously. He used to go to sleep at 7pm until he hit the ripe ol age of 3 and then slowly it started to happen! I probably wasn’t stern enough because I THOUGHT he was my final baby – HA! Now I have the twins on a strict routine that I do not budge on! So unless they are able to convince me otherwise in a few years the twins will be my children that actually sleep…..maybe.
You’re right to nip it in the bud, lady – evening chill time for grown-ups is MANDATORY at our house too, and I will fight tooth and nail for it. Fortunately, we don’t have to fight (much) at all. YAY!
he tried that last night…you get into bed now too Mommy….I’m like no way dude, mommy has work to do and this is her time. Must be so hard with more than one! ACK!
We have two kids that don’t fight the sleep – but our now drama Queen ruins it for everyone with her call outs or singing in her bed. My 6 yr old will nap still on the weekends and well my 2 yr old still needs the nap and could be in bed by 7:30 with his exhausted 6 yr old brother… it’s the 4 yr old that gives us the problem….she some nights doesn’t fall asleep until 9:30pm singing and talking away while her siblings are sleeping…. this is what kills us both. Most nights at 8:30pm we go to her room and say mom and dad are going to bed now so you have to be quiet AND the sad part is that we are sleeping by 9:30pm – the entire house!!! Because if she hears anything she is wandering the house!!