Martin and I were slightly (okay, incredibly) obsessed with Peyton's sleeping habits from day one. We read "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" (AKA "Bad Sleep Habits Mean You're a Bad Parent") cover to cover multiple times and quickly became sticklers for scheduled nap times, sleeping in her crib, and most importantly, establishing a bed time routine.
The routine started pretty early on, and was choreographed in perfect fashion. It starts at 6:30 with dinner in her highchair. Once finished at around 7:00 (she now signs "all done"), we relocate to the parlour for 20-30 minutes in front of the TV. Peyton watches sign language or Baby Einstein, or her favorite movie, Marmaduke. At 7:30, we head upstairs for her bath. We say the same words, do the same signs, and sing the same songs. It starts with a lively rendition of the Three Amigos classic "My Little Buttercup" while "getting naked" before her bath. As she exits her bath, she "shake shake shake her booty" before looking at herself in the mirror to another fan favorite and made-up song, "who's that monkey in the mirror." Upon entering her room, we put on lotion (every girl needs her lotion), a diaper, then sing "The Jammie Shuffle" while putting on her PJ's. Next, it's time for a quick hair brushing. Then, whoever's turn it is to put her to sleep (Martin and I trade off every other night) settles into the rocking chair with Peyton. The scorned parent kisses her goodnight and says "great job today." Peyton then drinks a (now) sippy cup of milk, brushes her teeth, and listens to a story. Then "it's time to turn out the light and say goodnight."
Peyton enjoys her last twenty minutes before bed watching sign language, eating sticks, and hanging out in her personalized chair.
This routine has worked wonders. Peyton knows when it's bedtime. And she never fights us. She closes her eyes and goes to sleep. Even when we're traveling and in a strange location, we follow the same structure -- and even though she may be apprehensive about her location, she knows it's time to go to sleep. It's a godsend.
BUT. Be careful what you wish for. Peyton knows the routine so well that tonight, when we strayed from it ever so slightly, she lost her ever-loving mind. PK has been sick since Tuesday. And while we thought she was on the mend, this afternoon saw a turn for the worse. During dinner (which she refused to eat), she had an unfortunate butt explosion. It was about 7:10 and our precious angel felt like garbage, was exhausted, and as just plain miserable. So Martin and I made the executive decision that we would forgo the approximately 20 minutes of post-dinner TV time and instead take her upstairs, clean her diaper, and put her immediately in the bath.
We did the routine. We sang the songs. We said goodnight.
But Peyton wasn't having it. She was inconsolable. She refused her milk. She wailed. She was reaching for the door. She wanted out of her room. After about 30 minutes of trying everything to calm her down and making sure nothing was really wrong with her (taking temperature, checking ears for infection, etc.), I gave in and brought her downstairs. As we got to the parlour, Peyton quickly spotted her favorite-movie-in-the-world-and-favorite-pre-bed-movie-especially-when-I'm-feeling-sick-and-just-want-to-zone-out-on-a-non-sign-language-nerd-learning movie, "Marmaduke," still playing on TV, and she quieted instantly. And so we sat for 10 minutes, watching the end of the movie.
Mesmerized by Marmaduke.
Now calm, I took her upstairs, Martin kissed her goodnight, and we turned out the light. She fell asleep instantly. Peyton had previously refused to fall asleep because she felt slighted. She wanted her last minutes of TV, and by God she was going to get it.
Tomorrow, we stick to the routine.
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