Sleep...sleep...sleep...

It amazes me that some of the largest issues most parents have with their children is about sleep. The Princess was actually a breeze. She started sleeping through the night at 3 1/2 months (she was BFing full time too). She napped well until she gave up naps right before she turned 2. As for my Bear???? He is not exempt from sleep issues.

As I'm trying to start this entry, he's in his crib (it's now 3:54pm) whimpering/crying because he doesn't want to be in there. Oy! Time for me to try to rock him to sleep...I'll be back!

I'm back! It's now 7:17pm & we're getting the kiddos ready for bed at 7:45pm.

Why'd it take me so long to get back on-line? Well, I ended up having to rock the kiddo to sleep. First, I held him sideways -- parallel to the ground. He didn't start to get sleepy for about 10 minutes. When he started to feel tired he moved and put his head on my left shoulder. I rocked and bounced him left to right until his head hung down heavy against my head & shoulder. I was exhausted by the time he fell asleep. At his 18 month appointment in July, he was 27 pounds. I can't imagine how much he weighs now, but he is VERY hefty.

I then held him while he slept. Why'd I do that? During the day if I try to lay him in his crib he'll wake up. I'm not very tall (not quite 5'3") so I have to get on my tippy-toes while I pull him up and away from me before I put him down. That last maneuver generally wakes him up. Anyway, I sat on the glider and let him lay over me. His head on my left shoulder. His arms spread to the left and to the right of me. His legs straddled over my lap.

I let him sleep for about an hour and a half. He could have slept a lot longer (he was a cranky cranky monster when I woke him) but we had to eat dinner. But at least he napped today so he's contentedly watching a DORA DVD with my hubby and the Princess.

Now why did I start this particular entry? To discuss the sleep issues we've dealt with as of late. Ah yes!

Wednesday morning at about 2:30am, our neighbor's dog started barking up a storm. I don't know why, but it did. I woke to hear the Bear crying. I grabbed my glasses and tore across the townhouse to his room. He was standing in his crib doing that scared crying. The dog had woken him up. He was alone in the dark and hearing a noise he didn't like. Poor little man!

I scooped him up and grabbed his blanket. I sat in the glider in his room, but could still hear the dog barking. Oy! So I got up and reclined on the couch in the family room. The kiddo wouldn't relax. His eyes were fully open as he played and played with my hair. At one point he heard my hubby roll over in bed and the kid got off the couch and walked into the master bedroom. "Bubba, get over here. Daddy is sleeping." Fortunately, he listened to me and came back to me. The last time I looked at the clock it said 3:45am. The kid was still awake.

I don't know what time he finally passed out. I don't know what time I passed out holding him. All I know is that I woke up at 5:30am. Why'd I wake up? Because the Bear rolled from his tummy onto his back. Ummm...and yes...he was still on top of me. I stayed still for a bit. I heard my hubby get out of bed. I guess he noticed that I wasn't in bed and came to look for me. That's when he found me. Reclined on the couch with the Bear on his back laying on me.

I decided that the Bear was fully passed out and it was time for me to put him back into his crib. But would it work? I pushed myself up off the couch and walked to his room. I guess it was divine intervention that got my little boy to roll over onto his back. All I had to do was to a flip off me and place him on his tummy on top of his balled up blanket. This is usually how he sleeps so he stayed in his turtle position as I creeped out of his room.

Now this morning? The Bear decided that 5:45am was wake-up time. My hubby was getting ready for work and got the kid out of his crib. What did my hubby do with the boy? He put the kid in bed with me! Oy! It was WAY too early. Thankfully the little guy laid next to me and played with my hair for a bit. I finally rolled my sorry ass out of bed at 6:30am. He's been irritable and cranky all day. Hopefully he realizes that he's not at his best when he doesn't sleep in to almost 7am. He's not at his best and neither is his Mommy!

So....that leads me to the reason I've been to Starbucks TWICE this week. Wednesday morning after the 2:30am disturbance. This morning after his pre-6am wakeup.

How are your toddlers sleeping? Any issues right now?