The Bedtime Diaries

I know that everyone with kids has bedtime struggles. I don’t think it matters what age your kids are, either. And every kid has their own “thing” about bedtime. And it changes every now and again. At least it does for us. But the past few months in the townhouse with my kids sharing a room, bedtimes have been awful. Like, I can’t even describe it. And the past couple of weeks, it’s gotten worse. I didn’t even think it was possible.

We knew that our kids sharing a room would be challenging. But I really thought they’d adjust and things would be fine. Clearly, I was delusional. 

I could go into the details of everything, but that would just wear us all out. But here’s the kicker.

This past weekend, I decided that enough was enough. I was putting Caedmon to bed in our room so I could let Honor sleep and/or cry some without waking him up. But before I put her to bed, I had a little chat with her.

Now remember, she’s 21 months old. She doesn’t quite speak in sentences yet. But the girl knows what’s up.

So we talked. I explained to her that I was putting her to bed, and that I wasn’t going to see her again until the morning when it was time to get up. If she woke up, she needed to lay herself back down and go back to sleep. Every time I’d make a statement, she’d respond with, “Mmm-hmmm” and nod her little head, peering up at me with her big blue eyes.

While I was saying these things and watching her little head bob up and down, I was thinking, “Yeah, right.” I put her to bed as usual and stayed up late, waiting for her to wake up and cry at her usual times.

She didn’t.

The little stinker slept 12 hours. Without a peep.

The next night, I put Caedmon to bed in there with her, but had a similar chat with her. Again, she slept all night without crying, fussing, or waking up in the middle of the night.

It. was. a. miracle.

And not to jinx us, but the sleeping has been a ton better since we had that little talk.

But then night before last? I forgot to remind her about it. And she woke up several times. After which time I realized she’s cutting a 2-year molar. Stellar. I’m hoping that doesn’t completely throw us off our two-night streak.

If I’d known all it would take was a little heart-to-heart, I would’ve done it months ago. Now that we have a month or so left here, I’m really hoping it sticks.