I'm not sure precisely where 'wit's end' is, but I believe it hovers somewhere between 'won't sleep past 6am', 'won't nap longer than 1.25 hours', and 'won't fall asleep before 9pm'. Kate is killing me. She is exhausted, but not to the point of actually sleeping. She is becoming increasingly bossy, and perhaps slightly more aggressive towards her sister. I have put dark curtains over her bedroom windows, but she is still up at the break of day, loudly whispering, "shhhhhhhhhhhh" in a way that wakes me and Claire up, if Claire has not already been awakened by Kate throwing things at her in her crib. There's nothing like a captive audience.
I am becoming evermore desperate, and even gave Kate benadryl before yesterday's nap in an effort to get her to sleep longer. Instead of sleeping for 1 hour and 10 minutes, she slept for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
We can't get our gate to work, but I may be willing to purchase a brand new one soon just to keep her in her room. Other ideas?
6 comments:
I've got nothing for you. Maybe she's having growing pains? Maybe she's just excited to be in a new house? Maybe next week she'll take 3 hour naps for no reason? I definitely feel your pain!
Are the girls back in the same room? I'd split them up and find a way to lock Kate's door if necessary, from the outside. I agree that Kate's had a lot of changes in her life, but she's old enough to obey you, too; it just sounds like plain disobedience. Even if she's not asleep, she can learn to play quietly in her room. We used a clock with an alarm for mornings for Mykenzie. She could get out of her bed when the music came on. We also had her listening to Bible stories during nap time and that helped to hold her interest and helped her to settle down and sleep. We also spanked her (and the others) when they were disobedient and that helped bring attitudes and hearts back in line as well. The parts of the house we've seen look great. I wish I had your energy! Love and miss you!
Oh NO!!!
Along the lines of what Carrie said, they also have clocks that change color at certain times (I think Sam saw one at BB&B, on sale). Maybe you could tell her she couldn't get up until the clock was green in the morning or pink at nap time, and that she could play quietly in her room until the light came on. A friend of mine used a light with a timer -- her girls couldn't get out of bed in the morning until the light came on.
Oh. My. God. This is my WORST FREAKING NIGHTMARE. I HATE the nap/sleep strikes with the burning hatred of a million hot suns. I have NO ideas for you, other than trying to put her to bed earlier....what happens when you do that?
And, definitely, if possible put them in different rooms! ARE YOU CRAZY????
My brother turned their door knob around on my nephew's room to "lock" him in. It was the only way they could get him to go to sleep in his own room. As soon as they knew he was asleep they unlocked it. It seemed kind of cruel to me but it did work so I understood why they did it. :)
Heather
They are in separate rooms! But the gate is back up, and things are looking better on the nap front...
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