One of our mottos from early on has been "Good sleep promotes good sleep". Now that Laci is 4, that motto still rings true! We have good days and bad days at bedtime. It seems to go in spurts. We'll have a few good weeks and then a bad week. One of the side effects of a bad bedtime routine is going to sleep too late and not enough sleep. The byproduct of not enough sleep is a misbehaving Laci! She is set off at the tiniest little thing when she is tired. She has a very distinct tired tantrum. I suppose the "silver lining" is that she appears to still be behaving well at school and that the tantrums are only at home. I am trying to recognize these tired tantrums and am trying not to punish them but to control them. I know she is not doing it to be naughty.
This week, the bedtime routine wasn't terrible but she just has trouble falling asleep and will go to great lengths to stay awake. She was falling asleep way too late. When we get home from school, the tears have been flowing. Yesterday, we had another pile on the couch moment as we walked in the door while both kids cuddled me and cried. Last night, I knew she needed some sleep. So we quickly read her books and I rocked her. I stopped rocking her to sleep last fall and told her she is too big to be rocked anymore. We have been cuddling in bed instead of rocking. But last night I rocked her. It was nice and she feel asleep quickly. I don't want to make it a regular thing. Sometimes I just have to throw the rules out the window and do what is best for my child in the moment. She needed sleep and she needed a few minutes of rocking time with Mama. And I needed a few minutes with my baby...
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