It seems like we've gone through many stages with Ainsley's sleep patterns over the last two years, and we've been in a rut for the last few weeks. I'm sure all the Christmas festivities screwed up her sleep patterns a little, but it has been ridiculous! She refuses to sleep. I mean absolutely refuses. She refuses to fall asleep for a nap and at bedtime. We've been letting her go until she drops for a nap. She's been falling asleep for a nap by sitting on the couch watching tv and all of a sudden fall over onto her side and start snoring. It's like she doesn't want to miss anything.
Bedtime hasn't been very fun at all for the last few weeks. We'll lay her in between us in bed, like we've been doing for months, to fall asleep. She usually went to bed in between 8-9:30, but lately she's been staying up until after 10. Joel and I will shut the tv off, all lights off, and turn our backs to her and she'll proceed to think it's play time. She'll stand up, jump in the bed, smack us, give us hugs and kisses, pull my hair, kick Joel....you name it, she does it!
Not only has she been falling asleep later, but she'll wake up at 5-6 in the morning. That's not enough sleep for her, or her Mommy!!!
We need some major help with sleep! If anyone has any suggestions, we'll gladly listen. She refuses to fall asleep on her own in her crib. We've tried this many times, and she'll scream for an hour straight and then end up making herself sick. Cleaning up vomit from a crib when you're already frustrated at your child isn't the thing you want to do! She takes her nap in a pack n play at the sitter's and Lisa puts her in the pack n play while she's still awake. Lisa says she'll cry for a little bit, but then ends up falling asleep. Why won't she do that at home???
Yesterday was terrible. I had absolutely no patience left in my body by the time Ainsley finally ended up falling asleep, and I don't know how many texts Joel got telling him all of Ainsley's shenanigans. She was tired by 10:30 or so yesterday morning and was about asleep on the couch. I started getting lunch ready right at 11 so she would at least eat a little bit before she fell asleep. She ate a little and then fell asleep in her high chair. I went to move her out of her high chair, and she immediately woke up as soon as I laid her down, and was wide awake. I got her cup of milk and laid her back down and laid down with her to try to get her back asleep. She wasn't having it! I asked her if she wanted to lay down in her crib and go night-night and she just gave me this weird look like "Mommy-you're nuts!" I told her she needed to play if she wasn't going to fall asleep, and she kept going in and out of her room. She started whining in her room, so I walked in to find her in front of her crib, reaching up at it. I asked her if she wanted to get in and proceeded to put her in the crib. She was fine with it until I walked out of her room and closed her door. She immediately lost it and started screaming. I went back into my office to work while I listened to her cry and scream for half an hour straight. I wasn't going to give in!!! I kept checking on her through a crack I had left in her door and she was standing up in her crib just crying. She finally let out a scream that sounded like she was hurt, so I opened the door to check on her. This is how I found her....
She was standing up in her crib, with no shirt on! Her shirt was laying on the floor beside the crib. She's tried to take her shirt off a few times before, but never got it completely off. She was screaming because she dropped her shirt!!! I couldn't believe it. She had snot smeared all over her face at this point and was sobbing, so I got her out and wiped her face off, put her shirt back on her and got her some more milk and laid down with her in our bed. I turned my back to her while laying there, so she had easier access to play with my hair while drinking her milk and the next thing I know, I hear a loud THUD and Ainsley immediately starts crying. She'd rolled off the bed and onto the floor! She was in the middle of our queen size bed. I have no idea what she was doing or how she did it, but she managed to fall off the bed. I couldn't catch a break!
At this point, I decided I was just going to let her wander around the house, playing with her toys, until she finally crashed. I was in my office working, and she was playing with her blocks behind me. I looked back at her at one point and found this.....
She'd taken her shirt off AGAIN! I have no clue where this came from.
She finally let me rock her a few minutes later and ended up falling asleep. She ended up sleeping literally all afternoon. For 3 hours straight. She hasn't taken that long of a nap in a very long time.
I typed all of this yesterday afternoon while Ainsley was at Lisa's. Last night was a completely different story. She laid in bed with Joel, while I worked, and was asleep a little after 8. I'm hoping she's getting back into her schedule by going to Lisa's.
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