It's 5 am and he's laying in the hallway

Oh, my child. I am reading the book, "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" by Harvey Karp and according to that book, Elliot's temperment could be considered "spirited." Let me tell you, he sure is.

So today is Sunday, and Wednesday night was the first night that Elliot slept in a big boy bed. The first night went suprisingly OK- he stayed in his bed and he came to our room at 5 am. The next night he came to his door once, and came into our room at 4 am. The third night, he kept getting out of his bed, so I finally went in his room with him and laid there until he fell asleep. Then he came into our room at 3, so I had to go lay with him again.

Yesterday was quite the fun adventure. According to a lot of stuff I have read, a good way to handle a child that won't stay in their crib is to continue to take them back to bed without saying anything to them or making any eye contact with them. For Elliot's naptime, I put him down at noon, determined to follow through with the plan, because the other key is consistency. I had to have taken him back to his room over 50 times between noon and 1:24. Finally at 1:24 I had enough, and it didn't look like there was going to be any end in sight, so I locked the door and shut it. Sounds kind of mean, doesn't it? I let him cry for 20 minutes and suddenly he stopped. I gave it a few more minutes before I went to his room and unlocked the door. When I open the door it wouldn't move; Elliot had cried himself to sleep in front of the door. I got the door opened and put him in bed, and he took a good nap after that.

I am sure you are asking, "So how did the night go then?" Well, suprisingly, it went really well! Mark and I talked it through before bedtime so we were both on the same page as far as our game plan. We were going to put him to bed, and if he got out, we would put him back silently and gently. I put Elliot to bed, and as I was walking out the door, he was climbing out of bed. I went and sat down and Mark said, "OK, give it a few minutes."

So, Elliot laid in the hallway for 4 minutes and Mark went and put him back to bed. We did this same scenario 3 more times, waiting a little longer in between each time to go get him. After the fourth time, he put himself to bed and went to sleep!! I really couldn't believe it considering how horribly naptime had gone.

I woke up at 5 am this morning, and looked down the hall, and there laid Elliot, on the floor in the hallway. I got up to go to the bathroom at 4, and he wasn't there, so I know he hasn't been there too long, but he hasn't come to our room! I am waiting to see if another thing we are trying is working; we put a light on a timer and told him when the light comes on, he can come into our room. That light should be going on in 3 minutes. I am anxiously waiting to see if a 29 month old child can comprehend the concept of "waiting for the light."

And the verdict is: He came walking in at 6:04 saying, "Here I am!"
I asked him if the turtle light came on and he said, "Yeah!"
Oh my gosh, I think my child is growing up.

In the Kitchen...

Elliot has been having some good days sleeping- and it is funny how he is able to do it. The last post I said that I told him I was in the kitchen. He has grabbed onto that one and is sticking with it! Every night now when I walk him to bed he says, "Mommy's in the kitchen."

I say, "Yup, I'm in the kitchen." And he smiles and lays down. He keeps saying I'm in the kitchen and I keep saying yup as I walk out the door and everything seems to be OK. Let's just hope that he doesn't actually figure out that I'm really not in the kitchen all night long!

We had an exciting weekend- Elliot got to go to two! Easter egg hunts on Saturday. The first egg hunt was at a local grocery store. Well, it started at 7:00 and Mark was still at work so he told me he would stop by. All morning I had been telling Elliot that we were going to go on an Easter egg hunt and he kept saying, "No, I no go get Easter eggs." So I told him we were going to meet Daddy and Daddy was going to have his police car and then he was all excited. He kept saying, "Oh! Daddy's Police Car!!" He had a great time collecting candy and loved it that Dad was along with.

Then we went to the Easter egg hunt that the PD puts on for all the kids of the employees. By the second egg hunt, Elliot had figured out that he had to make a run for it to collect eggs. He did a great job getting candy. Then after he was done, he decided to chase a little 4 year old girl around the room. I think Mark was quite proud at that moment.

Oh that little boy keeps us busy!

So when do toddlers begin to think rationally?

We are still dealing with sleep issues here with our almost 2 1/2 year old. Two nights ago out of the blue, he wouldn't lay down to go to sleep. We have never had a problem with him initially laying down! Night waking, yes, but laying down, no! So I ended up laying in his bedroom with him until he fell asleep, then I had to go in again at 2:00 and again at 4:00. It is funny, I really don't mind it much right now, I have a nice big body pillow and the floor is pretty cozy, but I don't think I going to be wanting to do that when the baby comes in 3 months.

I am a big fan of googling the problem to figure out how to solve it and I came across this website: http://parents.berkeley.edu/ It is a great website to read other parent's thoughts and ideas about all sorts of things. I have to say, I made it one of my favorites and I think I will refer to it frequently! Anyway, while I was reading I saw a parent had posted that they tell their two year old they have to go do something and they will be right back, and then continue to periodically check on them, telling them they will be right back. Eventually the child falls asleep because they are comfortable with the fact that the parent will be returning. When I read this I thought that it may work, because in all my efforts, I eventually have to tell Elliot that I have to go get my pillow. He immediately stops crying and waits for me. I can be gone for a while and he is fine with it. (That little manipulator) So I figured I would give it a try.

So last night when I went to put E down, he started to put up the same fuss, he didn't want to lay down. I told him that it was time to go to bed and I would just be in the kitchen. (I thought I would try that first, not giving him the idea that I would come back) Would you believe it, he laid down and went to sleep? So he woke up again at 11:45, I went and sat with him for 10 minutes and then told him again I would be in the kitchen and he stopped fussing and laid down again! Where is the rationale in that? He doesn't like it if I say I have to go to bed, but he is fine if I am in the kitchen.. Hmmmm- hope we dont' have a chauvanist on our hands!!

Anyway, I will keep trying to see what works, but it sure seems that the less rational the better!