No fooling

I really don't think Miss M is trying to stick it to us. But it sure feels that way. Her new wakeup time (pretty consistently, for a week now) is about 6:00.

This morning, in fact, it was 5:53. I nursed for close to ONE HOUR in a feeble attempt to reintroduce sleep. Didn't work, and I knew it was all over at this point: I started rubbing her back, in the hope of resettling her. She latched off, exclaimed "Back!", and returned to her post with a big smile.

But she needs the sleep. Don't we all? Ha ha! She's now taking a two-and-a-half to three hour nap smack in the middle of the day. So, effectively, my day is completely ruined because, unfortunately, it's difficult to run errands at 7:30 am. Not much opens before 8. The library never opens before 10. The nap & lunch combo isn't finished until 3 or later, which throws off the dinner/bath/bed schedule. I really might lose my mind over this. (No loss, sadly.)

How desperate am I? Well, I dusted off my second-hand copy of Ferber's Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. We are clearly not a Ferber family, seeing as how Miss M has yet to spend a night in her own room, never mind in a crib. We've had a total of one night spent entirely in her own bed. But Ferber was able to offer me some reassurance several months ago when she started hysterically sobbing in her sleep. (Theory: night terrors.) Once again, I think I can agree with his premise: because most of her sleep is completed at that hour, and there is more light in the room at 6 than there was a few weeks ago, and because Taxman gets up between 6 and 6:30 six days a week, well, no wonder she thinks it's time to get up and isn't particularly motivated to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, Ferber offers no solutions other than leaving your children to cry in their cribs (maybe with the addition of room darkening shades) and hopefully they'll figure it out and give you another 60 to 90 minutes of peace within a couple of weeks.

Oops. We'll have to pass.

I think we might start with being less lazy and making sure to get her back to her own bed after she gets her required middle-of-the-night snuggles. And Taxman will start getting dressed in another room. As for me, I will feel even less guilt about napping with her in the middle of the day. You'd think I'd commit to going to bed at a decent hour, but that's like saying no to a donut.