However...
He currently is going down about 7pm, which is great because I have time to do things I want or need to do in the evening. However this doesn't leave much time to see Daddy...and very minimal time for actually playing with Daddy (which Leo loves!) It also keeps me homebound all night...or Nick or both of us.
Tonight there was a picnic for the MBA families...we decided to go even though it was going to put us off schedule. Leo did really well while we were there and even on the way home...but after we gave him a lightning fast bath, he lost it. He screamed a good hour to go to bed since we were about an hour or so behind schedule. Ugh. I don't want to live under a rock, but I just don't know that a huge fit like that is worth a few minutes out to me. And when I see his sweet little face it is really hard to feel like anything I want should be more important than his comfort...I live and breathe for that kid!
I guess this is just one dimension of parenthood and something everyone struggles with. In the meantime, please only invite me to things that start at like 4pm or 8pm :) I just hope he sleeps well tonight and we can start fresh tomorrow!
3 comments:
Uhh... yeah. I have zero advice for you. But you have my sympathy. And you're more than welcome to fly on over for a visit at any time that may be convenient for you and little Leo. :)
Oh! This is so hard. But give Leo some more time. You may have to stick to a schedule for a while to avoid this type of melt-down, but it won't last forever. As he grows up he'll figure out how to manage better when things are off a bit.
He may always love going to bed on time though, you never know. We have some friends with a daughter that would just go get everyone's shoes and tell her parents she was all done when she was ready for bed. It was so funny. But it's better than not wanting to go to bed, right?
This was the hardest with Cadence as a baby. I found that most of the time it was worth it to me to stick to our schedule, and I was pretty vigilant about it. When we first started sleep training (around 4 mos.) I remember there was a window where she was going down for the night at 5 p.m., which meant that Spencer hardly saw her at all. Fortunately, that didn't last too long--as she grew her schedule shifted, and I think that's normal.
I think the schedule issues are most pronounced with a newborn, but we still deal with it. Toddlers missing their naps can be brutal, too. And in fact, it is only just recently that I am finding I can make some deviations (like letting the kids stay up /out late for something) without totally hating life the next day (or few days). So I'm all for honoring a schedule wherever possible, but the good news is the kids really do become more adaptable as they get older. Hang in there!
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