Sunday night didn't go well for mom and dad... and after the two previous nights of fighting, we didn't have the energy to have a go at it again... around 10:45 we caved, and Olivia joined us to sleep in our bed all night long. We knew, at that moment, it was breaking point and the next night, things were going to have to change.
After hearing that for the entire prior week (when she was at Grandma and Grandpa's), she had been put to bed without her eyes being closed whatsoever, and without a fuss, we knew, she had the upper hand at our house, and was gaining momentum each and every night... But,Dad wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, and I don't blame him for that, she is our smart little girl, why can't she learn that this is the way forward? We talked about it at lunch, let's try something different to see if we can establish her routine in her big girl bed, so that she doesn't have to be transitioned into her bed. Ben thought he would read to her in her big girl bed and say goodnight to her from there. It didn't work... they spent about an additional 40 minutes reading more books and/or discussing that if she didn't go to sleep dad was going to put her crib back up so she couldn't sleep in a big girl bed anymore... He left the room to go get her crib rail, and I stopped him, we discussed - let's start with the sleep training, the typical advice, super nanny style, sleep training. Dad was willing to let mom give this a go, cause he was definitely at the end of his rope, trying to be nice. Mom spent the next hour hauling Olivia back to her bed every time she stepped out of the room. There were many trips back to the bed. Olivia kept insisting that she needed her dad, so when Mom needed a bathroom break she asked Dad to take over with the same routine so Olivia would know. Dad spent another 20 minutes or so with her, and her trips to open the door became less frequent. By a little after 10:15, Olivia was exhausted and so were we... Thankfully, she gave in before we even thought about it! Success...
Tuesday night. we were back at it again... this time, there were far less trips back and forth, but a lot of begging behind the door. She knew she couldn't come out or she would be put back in bed, but she was convinced that she could sweet talk us into one of her many ploys from behind the door (water, milk, using the potty, needing a hug, needing to be rocked, wanting to sleep in our bed, etc.). My favorite convincing argument was when things became very detailed and sweet "Daddy, I just want to go potty on the big girl potty, the princess potty, daddy, just let me go potty like a big girl please Daddy." Fortunately, she fell asleep within about 45 minutes of carrying on - but unfortunately she fell asleep in front of the door, right in front of the door... So, when we went back to bed, Ben carried her into her bed.
Wednesday night, mom was solo, which was a little scary because ever since mom returned from her back to back work trips, she was not in favor and especially regarding bed time routine. To be honest, Mom didn't mind, because the prego belly made it harder to handle her around bedtime. The good news is that Wednesday night ended with her sleeping without too much hassle, however, the hassle that did occur was regarding her blanky and unfortunately her diaper. She insisted that her blanket was dirty and she needed a 'fresh' one. "Mommy, I just need a fresh blanky, please can you come help me - I cannot reach it mommy, it's too high, please mommy, my blanky is dirty." I can hear her at the dresser, trying to climb it, so I have to go in and lay her back down. After that, the diaper came off.. she took it off probably about 5 minutes in, telling Mom "I don't want a diaper mom, because I need to go potty in the big girl potty, just let me go potty mommy." I went back into put her diaper back on and that didn't go well, it was quite a struggle and I was certain it probably wasn't going to stay with the rage that was coming out of Olivia's mouth. The moment the door closed I heard her diaper come off again and the ridiculous ramblings about using the potty started spouting out of her mouth.. I didn't go back in after this, and Olivia spent the next 10 minutes on the floor near her bed fussing... but via our video monitor, I watched her crawl up in her bed and snuggle up tight. She was asleep... pantsless, however, asleep and in her bed. Success... Ben did put a diaper on her while she slept before we crawled into bed.
Thursday night, we had a colleague over for dinner, so things were a little off, and bedtime was a little more delayed than we would like. However, sleep wasn't much of an issue at all. She did get out of bed after crying a bit there, she got up into the big rocking chair, and spent about 10 minutes up there, crawled back down and put herself into her bed to sleep. WINNING!! I wish I could have gotten a picture of her in the big rocking chair, amazing...
Friday night, I put her down and she threw a bit of a fit because Dad wasn't the one taking her back. It wasn't a great situation, we think she was a little overly tired, so when we got to her room books weren't going to happen. However, I gave her a kiss, laid her down and though she fussed for about 10 minutes, and turned herself around in her bed, but she stayed there... and she put herself to bed! Though about a hour or two after when she couldn't find her blanky there was a little bit of "daddy, daddy, daddy..." She was still caught up on dad not having put her to bed.
Saturday night, no issues... Sunday night, no issues.
Let's pray that the next week continues like the last two nights! :-) Yay for the parents being back in control of their two year old ;-)!
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