Yet again, my children have declared a sleep strike. Mac now starts crying in the car when I pick her up after work because she does not want to go to bed. This is before we even eat dinner. Why? Who knows, but the primary reason seems to be that she is afraid of the dark. She has two nightlights -- any more, and it would be too bright to sleep. So I now have to drop Oliver in his crib and go lay with her until she falls asleep at night.
Now, we never really transitioned Oliver out of our bed into his own. He always starts out in his crib, and then comes in with us around midnight. No big deal -- I love the snuggles. This goes for both of them -- I figure soon will come the day when they won't even want me around, or want to give me hugs in public. I might as well take the love while I can get it. But anyway, lately Oliver either won't go down at all, or goes to sleep for about an hour, and then wakes up and screams. Since I don't want him to wake up Mac (who often has just fallen asleep) I grab him and bring him out with me. Then, when I go to bed, he comes with me. I know, I know -- a really bad habit.
So in the middle of all of this, Mac has decided that she wants to sleep with us, too. I can't say no, because Oliver does. But the one rule that I have managed to enforce is that each person starts out in his or her own bed. Sometimes that works and Mac sleeps through the night, none the wiser and never joining the rest of us (including Sniper) in our room. And those are the best nights, because, as much as I love Mac, she is very hard to sleep with. Why? Because she kicks, squirms, talks, and has rules. Rules, you ask? Yes, rules. They are as follows:
1. You can't breathe on her face, but...
2. You have to face her. You can't turn away and face the wall, no matter how long you have been laying on your side.
3. You can't breathe on her arm (I just learned this one this morning).
4. You can't have on any covers that she doesn't want on (sometimes she doesn't want the sheet, sometimes she doesn't want the comforter).
5. You can't always sleep on the pillow if she doesn't think there is enough room.
6. You can't curl up your knees because then she can't put her legs down straight.
And let me assure you that these rules are quite often enforced with a loud stage whisper, whiny pout, outright shriek, or crying that resonates through a quiet, sleeping house like a tornado. Tim and I are trying to figure out how to lay the smack down and get this all under control, but we are, quite frankly, too tired. At this point, I'm wondering if I should just start to price king sized beds and call it a day.
