So, tonite, I'm trying to get Mari down for bed... and the battle begins. She falls asleep watching a movie with me (at 7:30pm), so I take her up, get her into pajamas, and she wakes up! I let her come back down to finish her movie (I know, first mistake), Loren gives her sugar for a bedtime snack (mistake #2 I'm sure, but I don't tell her to get something else), and she then doesn't settle down. We finish the movie, I take her back upstairs and tell her it's time for bed. She starts to cry. I make her go get Pooh Bear (to which she crys even more - she says "because I told her she couldn't get off the bed") and try to get her to say goodnight to her dad. Still crying, I have her get into bed, which sets off even more crying.
**Side note, I created a very bad habit of laying down with her in the evening from before we moved. Mostly because I wouldn't get home until after 8:00pm, so my cuddle time was at time to go to bed - which was still closer to 10:00pm.... so most of this is my fault.
She wants to sleep in MY bed, which I tell her isn't going to happen and that she can sleep in her own bed. Of course, that leads to "I want you to lay down with me...." (in a slight wail) - see above - to which I say that I would (we're probably to #s 3, 4, 5 & 6 at this point). I get her to lay down, Pooh Bear in hand, and cuddle next to me. She looks at me, wraps her arm around my neck and plays with my hair, buries her nose in my neck & falls asleep.
Now, I know that I probably should have laid down the law, given her some kind of punishment for not going to bed & closed her door. But, my sweet little baby wanted me to love her & I couldn't say no. Besides, now she'll have the memory of me holding her & telling her how much I love her as she falls asleep instead. Does this make me the biggest kind of pushover around?
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7 comments:
I must be in your "pushover club" then too! Since MOST nights I have one if not BOTH kids in our bed at some point during the night. And to get Cami to sleep she MUST be rubbed! But they are so stinkin cute!
If you are a pushover, then so is pretty much everyone else...us included. Our babies are always our babies (no matter how old they get) and when they want you to love them, how can you say no? Love her up; she'll be a teenager too soon and won't want anything to do with you.
Nothing like a good snuggle to melt your heart!
All too true, but it makes you wonder who really is in charge.... *thinking*
Haha! I am screwed! forgive my language but I am in big trouble when Macie gets bigger. I become more of a push over every day and I swear she is wise to it... You are right though, how can anyone say no to someone as cute as Mari? You know who is in real trouble is the boy that falls in love with her!
The pushover part was letting her have candy before bed, snuggling your kid to sleep is not. The day will come all too soon when they won't need us to snuggle them to sleep, so I say....its okay to give in once in a while and snuggle on!
No way. Ask yourself the "who's in charge" question about the movies and candy, I don't know about them. But giving your daughter the love and closeness she needs when she asks for it isn't being A pushover, it's being a good parent and providing her with security in your love.
The time when she wants this is so terribly short :(. If you're worried about reinforcing the whining, frame the situation differently. Don't wait until she begs then cave into her whining, ask her befor she starts to whine if she would like you to cuddle with her while she falls asleep :) - Holly
Holly
Holly
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