Sleepless in Toddler Land

It is 10:30 at night and the toddler is STILL awake. She’s standing at the door to her room, sobbing, only the gate that I put up keeping her in, convinced her parents are the most hardhearted people in the world. Meanwhile, her sobs are ripping my heart out, something she’ll never believe until she has children of her own, I’ll bet. Having children has certainly given me a new perspective on certain past experiences with my own parents, at any rate.

The problem tonight is that she’s figured out how to reach the light switch. If she stands on her bed and reaches over a little, there it is! All the light for staying up and playing that any little girl could wish for. So Mommy keeps going down the hall and turning it off, and the toddler keeps bouncing out of bed after Mommy’s gone back into the living room and turns it on and it’s become a huge endurance match.

I can’t believe she’s still awake. 8 pm is her normal bedtime. We are rapidly approaching MY normal bedtime. Not that I expect to make it tonight, even if she suddenly falls asleep, because the baby has been having a hard day. She’s been up and down all day like her big sister’s been over the last 2 1/2 hours, and is showing every indication of keeping it up all night.

Have I ever mentioned how glad I am to be a stay at home mom and not have to go to work exhausted tomorrow? I just have to try not to fall asleep until the toddler has her nap, which is going to be hard enough. Maybe I’ll be able to get her to sleep early tomorrow, though.

*banging my head gently against the wall right now*