Fighting the Inevitable

What do you get when you mix an ever-studying, stressed husband, a cranky baby that won't sleep, and a worn-out mama who can't perform basic daily responsibilities....?

I don't know, but whatever it is, it is not fun.

Needless to say, the past couple weeks have been CRAZY.  Right as Tony was putting his studying into high gear for his big test, Audrey decides that she's going to start waking up at 5am every day.  Usually Tony and I take turns when things like this happen, but I wanted Tony to get as much sleep as possible so I was on wake-up duty full time.  It was SO hard.  I didn't understand why Audrey was waking up so early then getting cranky an hour later.  I did all of my research online about how to get her to sleep more and decided I needed to move her bedtime earlier, and make sure she wasn't getting cold.

It worked!  For one night...

I was at a loss, frustrated, tired, and things seemed to be falling apart.  Every time I turned to Google for help, it all said the same thing:  sleep begets sleep, earlier bedtime = longer sleeping.  So why wasn't it working for Audrey?  One last time I typed in "help baby sleep longer."  Wait a minute....baby?....what if I try.....*gulp* TODDLER?  So, reluctantly I changed baby to toddler and found loads of new information.  What's this?  When a toddler isn't sleeping well you make their bedtime later because they have more energy?  Wait....maybe Audrey only needs one long nap instead of two short ones?  Okay, FINE.  Apparently the whole sleep begets sleep thing is a BABY thing, not a toddler thing.

So, two nights ago we kept Audrey up until she was showing signs of being sleepy (mostly because we were at a family party).  She ended up asleep at 8:45pm.  Yesterday morning she woke up at 4am because she was hungry (she didn't get her bedtime snack/milk because we were out) and went right back to sleep after a drink of warm milk.  She woke up again at 8:30.  Yeah, that's right...8:30!!!  I was certain it was a fluke.  Because she slept in, I knew her nap time would be pushed back, regardless of it was going to be one nap or two that day.  She fell asleep after lunch at 12:30 and slept until 4.  Then, last night, at 8:30pm, she asked to go to bed.  SHE ASKED.  After our bedtime routine she snuggled in her bed and went right to sleep.  NO complaining whatsoever!  Usually she cries for a good 10 minutes before falling asleep.

Do you know how long this chick slept last night?

ELEVEN.  HOURS.

So, I've given in.  I was really trying to avoid getting rid of two naps for as long as possible because I felt like I got so much done during those times.  Plus, it means she's doing that whole "growing up" thing, which I've always been kind of bitter about.  But I've found that the one longer nap is actually really nice.  We get our errands done earlier before it gets unbearably hot, and then I don't have to worry about them during the day.  I also have time to sit alone and do whatever I want AND clean/do whatever needs to be done.  It's been a lot better than I had anticipated.

So, my TODDLER is now a well-rested girl and so am I.  I'm so glad we finally figured things out because I was worried about all of us.  I had almost forgotten what it was like to get a full-night's rest!