Most days these days, Carleigh is a great girl. She's helpful, thoughtful and oh so sweet. But she's also 2 and the reality of that is that she falls apart when she doesn't get her way or if she's overtired. Do you all remember the movie, "Gremlins?" from the early 1980s?
They were super cute and nice until they got wet, ate after midnight or were exposed to sunlight. Then they turned into this:
Well, Carleigh is somewhat similar. She super happy and sweet...
... until she gets too tired or doesn't get her way.
Most days I have to remember that reasoning with her isn't possible because of her age. Her mood can switch instantly. Especially when the words "nap" or "bedtime" come up. She protests wildly, thinking she doesn't need a nap or doesn't need a realistic bedtime. This is often what we see. She throws her body on the ground (usually on her back) and kicks and screams and cries. It's really quite lovely, I assure you.
Part of the problem is me, I know.
Carleigh's gotten accustomed to Mommy laying in bed with her reading her stories or watching a show together and the bedtime ritual has gotten a bit ridiculous, I'm not going to lie. I love that she wants me but I know we've enabled these behaviors. Here's a look at what we're doing wrong:
The process usually begins for her at 7 pm at which time she bathes. Because we are swimming almost daily, she needs to wash her hair with chlorine removing shampoo because her ends are green. After bath time, we usually watch a 30 minute show together, just me and her. It's usually Bubble Guppies, Team Umi Zoomi or Dora. Then it's book time. She picks out 4, not 3 and not 5, but 4 books and we read them together. She usually likes to do the reading and starts every book with "Once upon a time" and finishes with "and they lived happily ever after." I'm sure I'm screwing her up by not correcting her and allowing her to believe life's a fairy tale, but she's only 2. Why ruin it for her? After reading, she says a prayer, turns on her ladybug star light, turns on her lullaby bear and then has me sing "Love You Forever." Then she wants me to snuggle with her until she falls asleep and to help her sleep, I scratch her arms very softly. I usually don't come downstairs until after 9:15 or later.
When there's a kink in the routine (ie Parker needs me or I have some things to do that are pressing), she has a major meltdown, often resulting in waking Parker because she screams so loud.
We have to change our routine. She won't let Dustin do this with her so he's left to bathe and put Parker to bed and I miss time with Dustin in the evenings! I need an intervention!!!
