here we go...again

Feel free to not read this post unless you are immensely bored. I'm merely trying to distract myself from an unpleasant experience.

Many of you may or may not recall that several months ago, I vowed to removed the bedtime bink from Elizabeth's nightly needs. Well, for a list of excuses that I may or may not choose to list, it didn't happen. I thought, at the time, that it was just a bad time for me. I had a ton going on, then Julia got sick, then David and I were out of town (and I can't justify asking someone else to binky-break my child while I'm on vacation). In reality though, and as I listen to her bellow in her bed right now, I realize I've just gotten soft. When we went through this with Julia, I had no sympathy. I told her what we were going to do, I went through the nightly routine sans the bink, I laid her in her bed, left, and never felt the slightest tinge of guilt. Not the case tonight. As I listen to E sob, knowing that a tiny piece of silicone will make it all better, I have to keep reminding myself that there is a good reason for this process. Really, I just want to go cuddle her till she falls asleep. But, I'm fighting the consequences of that decision with Julia. So, I'll just continue to blog randomness to distract myself.

I'm attempting a reward system for both of the nightly habits I'm trying to eliminate right now. Julia has a habit of coming to my bed every night. I take her back to her bed and she goes right back to sleep. However, this happens 3-4x every night. So, needless to say, neither me nor Julia are very well rested. And, when E wakes in the morning and realizes she's in her room alone, she is not pleased. So, tonight we made sticker charts for each girls' goal. If we make one week for either of them, we get to go toy shopping. I'll admit, Julia is much more excited/motivated by the idea of a reward than Elizabeth. E thought it was a great idea until she got to bed, then suddenly nothing was worth not having that paci.

Currently, I'm 30 minutes in, the people on househunters international are very close to making a decision on a new caribbean beach house at the rock bottom price of $800,000.00, I now hear Elizabeth flicking the light on and off from her crib, and I'm amazed that Julia is still asleep (yet somehow when I turn the shower on in the morning, she's wide awake - how does that work?)

At times like this, I realize there is a very valuable niche in the American marketplace that has not been filled. Where is the 800 number to call to have a nice lady come to your home, potty train your child, break habits that have to be broken, and do it all without a single tear from your baby? I think this could be a very lucrative business. If I were better at this, I might consider starting this company myself.

The crying has subsided - only 35 straight minutes. But, I'm not to be fooled. I'm certain that within 5 minutes, she will be at it again. I lied, it was within 1 minute...and now more adamant.

Well, over an hour, and multiple HGTV episodes later, she's asleep...and I'm done with this distracting rant. G'nite.

My obsession...

Apparently I'm obsessed with my children's sleeping habits. This was brought to my attention when I was wasting some time finding out what my most frequent facebook status update terms were. 'Sleep' 'nap' and 'bed' were right at the top....right after 'girls' 'Elizabeth' and 'Julia' and right before 'David'. So apparently, I think about it alot. After this came to my attention, I began to think that this was ridiculous. Why should I be so obsessed with my kids' sleeping habits? After all, their sleep patterns aren't that bizarre....are they? Well, maybe they are.

Case 1:
Setting: two nights ago
time: 4:30 am
Julia: asleep in my bed
Elizabeth: asleep in Julia's bed
Me: asleep in the sponge bob couch in my kids' bedroom floor

Case 2:
setting: last night
time: 2:00 am
Me: asleep in my bed (for the moment)
Julia: asleep in sponge bob couch (for the moment)
Elizabeth: apparently not sleeping in Julia's bed because I hear my two year old's excitement as she opens her bedroom door and exclaims "I DID IT DAHLIA!!" "I DID IT!!" "COME ON DAHLIA!!'
(Read 'Julia' for 'Dahlia' after all, Elizabeth is just 2 and J's are still kinda hard)
This evening continued by getting Elizabeth back to sleep in her own bed (a 30 minute task), getting Julia to sleep in my bed (after 2 hours of laying awake in her own bed) and getting myself to sleep in the 3 inches of my bed that is left after David and Julia finish sprawling (the sun was up before this happened). When I awoke a whopping 45 minutes later, I was on the remaining 2 inches of bed and Julia was sprawled over me, as though she were the one with no mattress space....I should've opted for the sponge bob couch again.

You may think these are isolated incidences...but no...such stories are regular occurrances in the Willingham household. So, this is why I'm obsessed with the sleep patterns of my children. Because even Elizabeth, who I consider a fabulous sleeper, has at least one non-sleeping night each month. But hey, these years pass quickly right? And at some point, I'll be obsessed with things far more stressful than sleep habits. For now, I'm considering purchasing a much larger sponge bob couch...