Nighttime Woes

Ever since we got back from Florida Anna has had a hard time going to be at night. At nap time she goes right down but at night she has started to cry when she sees we are getting ready to put her to bed.

Monday night: This was the longest it has taken Anna to get to sleep in a long time at an hour and a half. When Anna was younger we would let her cry herself to sleep but now things seem different - I don't know if I have become a sucker or what. I now truly feel that if Anna is tired she will go right to sleep and there is little that can be done to keep her awake. But if she is screaming and won't lay down I feel something must be wrong. After an hour of going in and out of her room reading books and trying to get her to lay down, she propped herself up against the side railing of her crib, standing, and started dozing. Whenever I would try to lay her down or leave the room she would scream, but as long as I was standing there and she was standing, she would sleep - bizarre! I don't know if it was ears, teeth, belly ache, or no physical reason at all. I rubbed her cheek with her blankie and eventually she was laying down asleep - only to wake up 4 times during the night and be completely ready to get up for the day at 6:40 am.

Tuesday night: Once again we spent an hour going in and out of Anna's room reading her books and trying to get her to lay down. After an hour we let her cry for a little longer and she was asleep within 20 minutes. Have I gone back on what I thought the previous night now that I know Anna just doesn't want to go to sleep? Perhaps. I just hope we get back into a normal routine by the time the baby comes!

Wednesday night: I read Anna 4 books and at the end of the 4th book she started screaming because she realized there were no more books to read and she was going to next be put in her crib. Tonight we let her cry and she was asleep in 30 minutes.

Thursday night: I read Anna 4 books again tonight and waited for the fuss when we were done - tonight there was no fuss. I laid her down in her crib and she never budged. I wish she could tell me if something was different the previous nights. I'll keep my fingers crossed that tomorrow night will go as well.