Sleep

It has been a difficult few months for us with sleep. Ally has always been a late sleeper. She used to jump and sing and talk in her crib for a very long time before going to sleep (sometimes 2-3 hours). This summer she moved to her big girl bed and she would play in bed for a long time. She has decided she can't sleep in her room when sharing it with someone else. She also is fond of saying "I don't want to go to sleep" this is progress from this summer when she would say "I can't go to sleep" because most of the time she can, she just does not want to. But as she has matured she can now accurately describe what the situation is. For the most part Ally no longer naps. We insist on a rest time at home on the weekends, and they do at school as well. She also likes to tell us "Mommy, I am so tired" but then the sleep is hard to accomplish.

On Saturday she was super tired. I knew it and she knew it. She agreed to rest time without any fuss, I gave her some books to read in bed and she put on music to listen to. After about 15 minutes she called out to me. She looked so sad and tired. She said she did not want to stay in her bed. After some conversation, she admitted that she was so tired, she was afraid if she stayed in bed she would fall asleep, and she did not want to be asleep for her play date with Alice. She did not want to miss anything, and sleeping would mean she might miss something. Staying in her bed surely meant sleep.

So I suggested we make a sleeping bag for her and she could get a pillow and pretend she was camping on the floor in her room. She loved the idea! Its amazing how easy it is to distract a child sometimes. So we folded the blanket to create a makeshift sleeping bag and she laid down and was asleep within minutes.

I woke her an hour later so she would be awake and rested for Alice's arrival.