Nighttime Woes
We have been having a lot of trouble getting Gabby to go to bed at night. We will put her down around 8, sometimes 8:15 and she will lie in bed for an hour to an hour and a half before she falls asleep. In between being put to bed and falling asleep are 15 trips out of her bed for various reasons - she "wants" us, needs her music changed, dropped her blankie, needs to be tucked in again, needs water, etc. If you are a parent, you have dealt with this.
Tonight Kenton is gone and I just put Gabby to bed. I told her that I was not going back upstairs and that if she had a problem with her blankets or anything else, she had to deal with it. I was trying to be clear with my expectations while not making her scared that I was abandoning her. After telling her goodnight, within 3 minutes I heard the pitter patter of feet upstairs. She got up and wanted the track on her cd changed. I told her "no and goodnight" but a temper tantrum started and I was afraid she was going to do something stupid like attempt to crawl under our stairway gate. Okay, so I went back on my word once. I reinforced the "no getting out of bed" rule and went back downstairs. 1 minute later, over the monitor I hear, "Mommy!" I think to myself, "NO! What now?!?! This is going to be one of those nights when I have to deal with her getting out of bed for the next hour or so. I'm not going to get to relax, but rather I will have to get more frustrated because I want the day to be over and she will fight it. Why me?" Just when I was pulling out my "woe is me" crown I hear, "Mommy! I love you!" Don't I feel like a jerk. Just when I was cursing my daughter's name for the 7th night in a row, I hear that. I respond...
"I love you too sweetie. Goodnight."
"Okay, see you in the morning!"
"Okay, baby."
"Mommy!"
"What?"
"I want you."
"No, honey. Goodnight. I love you."
"Okay. Thanks! I love you, too."
Just melt my heart why don't you!
Tonight Kenton is gone and I just put Gabby to bed. I told her that I was not going back upstairs and that if she had a problem with her blankets or anything else, she had to deal with it. I was trying to be clear with my expectations while not making her scared that I was abandoning her. After telling her goodnight, within 3 minutes I heard the pitter patter of feet upstairs. She got up and wanted the track on her cd changed. I told her "no and goodnight" but a temper tantrum started and I was afraid she was going to do something stupid like attempt to crawl under our stairway gate. Okay, so I went back on my word once. I reinforced the "no getting out of bed" rule and went back downstairs. 1 minute later, over the monitor I hear, "Mommy!" I think to myself, "NO! What now?!?! This is going to be one of those nights when I have to deal with her getting out of bed for the next hour or so. I'm not going to get to relax, but rather I will have to get more frustrated because I want the day to be over and she will fight it. Why me?" Just when I was pulling out my "woe is me" crown I hear, "Mommy! I love you!" Don't I feel like a jerk. Just when I was cursing my daughter's name for the 7th night in a row, I hear that. I respond...
"I love you too sweetie. Goodnight."
"Okay, see you in the morning!"
"Okay, baby."
"Mommy!"
"What?"
"I want you."
"No, honey. Goodnight. I love you."
"Okay. Thanks! I love you, too."
Just melt my heart why don't you!
posted by Emily at 8:48 PM
13 Comments:
awww. She is so sweet. Don't beat yourself up about it. There are some days when I can't WAIT until bedtime routine starts with Ayden and then he looks at me with those big blue eyes and flashes me the sweetest smile and I feel like a big jerk for wanting to get him to bed. We all have those moments!
Aw, that is so, SO sweet! What a sweetheart she is. Maybe just being firm is the thing to do. You just never know, do you? I am glad that she went down well and hope that she stays down! Hopefully you are relaxing right now!
Well at least you get "I love you"...I just get screams!!!
This bedtime stuff SUCKS!!!!!!
That is cute! That is totally how it goes just when you can't take anymore they surprise you and act all sweet! Maybe it was the turning point from now on.
What a little angel she is. I hope once Ella's TEETH are through, maybe she'll be an angel just like Gabby. A girl can dream, right? :)
Well isn't this a HUGE step in the right direction!!!! I am so glad that you stuck with your firm/mommy voice (it can be tough to do after you are exhausted from a long day). But it certainly seemed to work!! Great job, Emily, and I wish you continued nights of success.
Leslie, I have no problems with the firm mommy voice. It is the soft, calming voice that troubles me at times!
Wwwwwwwwww it's so hard to be mad then isn't it? they know juuuuust when you can't take one. more. thing.
And then she just went to sleep? I've had to supplement my firm voice with rewards/loss of privileges...although she's pretty good now.
Aw, that is just precious!!! I think I would've caved at that point just to get some extra cuddles. :) Kudos to you for just saying "goodnight" again. What a cute story!
Way to go, Gabby! I tell you, I am DREADING the big boy bed. Fintan plays in his bed for an hour or two each night, too. But he stays in his crib, for now.
Glad you got the sweet side of Gabby in that particular instance!
Where or where is my Gabbers? I'm starting to have withdrawal!
Auntie Sarah
Gabby Gabby do - where are you? we've got some work to do now......
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