And So It Begins....

I've always tried to pick my battles when it comes to raising Aiden. I can go overboard obsessing about every little thing, or I can just take a deep breath, remind myself that he's a toddler and just abide by my time-honored statute - if it's not going to hurt him, and he's not going to hurt it, then just let him be. This has always worked very well in the past, and I think I'm pretty laid back about most things when it comes to him. Well, the time has come to pick a battle.

I've always allowed him to sleep in the bed with me if he woke up in the middle of the night. He has always started out in his own bed, but somehow always ends up in bed with me before the night is over. Mainly because it was the best way for all of us to get a good night's sleep. Up until now, that has always been the most important thing to me, especially while working, and being pregnant. Last night however, all that changed. He's been steadily waking up more and more often during the night. He's taking forever to go back to sleep, even in the bed with me, whereas it usually only took him 5 minutes or so. I'm already sleep-deprived thanks to a new baby, I don't need my 2 1/2 year old to add to it. Then he started throwing middle of the night temper tantrums in the bed, for no reason that I could figure out. That really pisses me off. Nothing like being beat up by your toddler at 3 am. When that happens, I just haul his little butt back to his bed and let him scream for a few minutes before going back and getting him. He's usually very compliant after that, but lately it hasn't made a difference. So now we are all tired and grumpy and cranky, and I decided that something has to change.

So tonight I'm implementing a new policy. He's sleeping all night in his own bed, and I'm not going to sit with him until he falls asleep anymore, like I have been. Again, it used to take 5 minutes, now it can take up to an hour or more, and I just can't do that with Jack here now. It's time he learned to fall asleep on his own. So as I write this, Aiden is in his room, very loudly letting me know that he is not happy about being in there by himself. In fact, he's pretty pissed. I used to not be able to handle letting him cry, but times have changed. He's not a baby anymore, he knows exactly what I want him to do, he's just the most stubborn, willful child I have ever met. So I am steeling myself for several nights of h-e-double hockey sticks before he breaks. I've been called stubborn before by a certain husband of mine, so we'll see who's going to win. I'm going to make a prediction that it's going to be me. Good thing I'm up anyway! Pray for me please, I have a feeling that there are fierce battles ahead...

He's been quiet for a couple of minutes now, so he's either given up or been abducted by aliens. I'll keep you posted.

PS - Sara, pray extra hard that it doesn't take more than a week to get through this...that or bring a pair of earplugs with you next week! :-)