Bedtime Woes (Day 9)

Oh my! Today is one of those days. The last thing I want to do is plan my menu for the week. It was hard enough coming up with what to make for dinner (baked tilapia, brown rice, steamed broccoli). I've eaten mandarins and leftover rolls for breakfast and lunch today.

Actually, today was a good day. I had a great coffee date and heard some exciting news. But, Silas has been a fuss budget the past couple of days. It all started with our next door neighbors having a party. Honestly, I can't complain about the party at all. They had a live band that Eric and I couldn't even hear unless we went outside. And, she is a massage therapist, so she gave me a gift certificate for a prenatal massage because she felt bad about the noise. I definitely think I got the good end of the deal.

But, that night Silas did get woken up. He cried awhile in his bed, then I went in to check on him. Everything was fine, but I brought him out on the couch with me. That was a big mistake. After awhile I laid him back down and he went right to sleep, but a few hours later woke up screaming.

In my middle of the night stupor I, again, got him out of bed and brought him on the couch with me. When I laid him back in his crib he, again, went right back to sleep. The same thing happened last night. He woke up screaming, I brought him on the couch, he went back to sleep happily when I laid him back down.

Well, last night I realized that I was creating a monster. And, some really bad habits. So, I decided to let him cry it out. Sleep training at 18 months is not fun, let me tell you. And, in the middle of the night a few minutes feels more like hours. I don't think he really cried that long and he eventually went back to sleep, but lets hope none of this happens tonight. And, by the way, I even went in and got him in the first place because I was concerned something was really wrong- a fever, lost blankie, teething. But, I could tell it wasn't when the crying stopped as soon as I entered the room.

Another thing he's been doing is waking up from naps hysterical. When he wakes up in the morning he's happy, but he wakes up from both his morning and afternoon nap really crabby. And, he stays that way for awhile. I don't know what's up. I read online that he could be waking up before he's ready, which makes sense, since his naps are only about 45 minutes. So, tomorrow I'm going to skip the morning nap and just do an afternoon. I was doing that for awhile, but a morning nap makes homeschool sooooo much easier. Maybe we'll do afternoon homeschool now?

I just want my happy-after-naps baby back!