Bedtime

Anna is not sleeping well. For the last few weeks. She has been waking up in the middle of the night crying about various things. Sometimes she is asking for a toy or a light, but usually she is just upset. Most often she will settle down and go back to sleep after one trip to her room and a reminder that she already has everything she needs, but last night this became a much bigger problem. She began crying around 3 am and the only thing I could ever get her to tell me was, "Leave my door open!" This would be a simple problem to solve except her door was already open . She gradually became more and more upset, her crying escalating to screaming and then kicking her bed over and over. By four o'clock, her light was being left on and her door open, she had finally settled down. At this time however, Elizabeth needed to be fed. I was sitting in the rocking chair just outside of Anna's door feeding the baby and assumed Anna must have gone back to sleep because I had not heard a sound from her room.

After a few minutes of enjoying the quiet time with the baby, I learned I was wrong about my assumption. Anna had begun "reading" aloud a story book in her room. Even though it was after 4 in the morning, I admit I was tickled by this. I went and told Chris about it and we shared a chuckle and I sat back down in the rocking chair. After a few more minutes, I heard Anna get out of bed. She had decided it was play time and was now playing with the noisiest toy in her room--an SUV for her dollhouse family that has a horn and blaring radio. By this time Elizabeth and I were wide awake so we went into Anna's room and enjoyed a bit of middle-of-the-night playtime. In a short time, I was able to redirect towards quieter toys and talk her back into bed.

The baby was still wide awake so I decided to go downstairs and relax on the couch and turn on the television. I enjoyed an episode of LOST on DVD and Elizabeth drifted off to sleep. About the same time, Anna began crying again. I heard Chris go in and tell her to quiet down and go back to sleep. His attempts were not successful so I put Elizabeth back to bed and stood in Anna's doorway until she went back to sleep. In summary, we were up for nearly three hours in the middle of the night, crying, playing, and having t.v. time.

At the store this afternoon I bought Anna a new nightlight. I have also cleaned up her room, hoping bare floors are less inviting in the wee hours of the morning. She had a good nap this afternoon so I know she will not be overtired for bedtime. I'm hoping last night will be have been the last time we go through all of that!

On another subject, Elizabeth is one month old today! I cannot believe how much she has grown but how small she still is.