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But let me assure you....at 8pm every night, she goes from being my sweet little princess to being a difficult, tantrum throwing, stubborn little 3 year old who is absolutely exhausting. I thought they were the terrible 2's, but let me tell ya...it's the terrible 3's! Every night, we go through our bedtime routine (brush our teeth, reading 3 books, singing 2-3 songs, and saying our prayers). Right now, Mia is in the habit of "laying in our bed for 1 minute" before she goes to her room. When she finally goes to her room, she comes out at least 10-15 times for everything (potty, needs a drink, needs to clean her ears, her eyes hurt, needs a stuffed animal), I've heard it all. So, right now, I'm looking for help. I am a sucker. I'll be the first to admit it. I hate to make her cry. I hate to see her sad, especially when she is calling for ME. It breaks my heart. How do you do it? How do you get your kids to stay in bed? Are there any tricks I can use that won't make her so upset and upset me in the process?
Oh my goodness. I am not looking forward to this, myself!
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeletefind something that works for YOU...I am a momma to 5 amazing kids (and I too have an angel baby! more about that some other time) The first kiddo we sat with and held her hand for hours - it drove us nuts, but I couldn't listen to her cry. The second kiddo was easy as pie - plus, she slept with her big sister - so, they had each other. The third crazy (sorry) child...well, she cried. And then, when she was ready to get out of a crib, we let her fall asleep in our bed with the t.v. on....WHAT? Yes, we did. It got to be so exhausting otherwise. Sometimes you break the rules and do what you need to do. Now, I"m not suggesting that you let her watch t.v. at bedtime...just do something that works for you - even if you have to break "the rules". Our next little one (our first boy, finally) again, is easy, but I won't lie, he sleeps in my bed. And we'll see what our baby does, for now, he's in a pack n play in my room. At this point, I just need to get some sleep. So, now my girls share a room (all 3 of them) and after I kiss them good night and start working on getting the boys to bed, my husband sits in the girls doorway, facing away from them playing on his IPOD til the last one falls asleep (usually it's 10 minutes or less)....Good luck!