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Thursday, July 15, 2010

She's Sixteen, She's Beautiful, and She's NOT Sleeping!

Last month just before Elisabeth turned 16, she did a 180 degree on her sleeping schedule which is very different.

Elisabeth has been almost clockwork on the sleep cycle since she turned 3. Before that, she didn't sleep at all until we were prescribed a sleep aid to help her develop a sleep cycle.

Typically, she goes to bed by 9:30 without a hitch until we started noticing a few weeks ago Elisabeth struggling with lying down and vocalizing to us that she was not ready to go to bed.

She gets loud, too. And then she starts with the crying, but it's not her "pain" cry. We think it's her "I'm bored and I'm not ready to go to bed."

Tonight for example, she used the potty at 9:00 pm and had her usual dish of ice cream with her Dad while we watch a movie. Typically this is not an issue except that until a few weeks ago, you could brush her teeth, read a little bit, and she would fall asleep. 

Now when it's bed time,  she resists! So back she goes in the swing for about a half hour or the potty and we hope she falls asleep.


At 10:30 we moved her into her sister's room where Dad reads to them both while Elisabeth sits in a bean bag. We sense she's asleep so we put her in her own room in her own bed and she then starts in with the resistence. So I put her on the potty until 11:15 after which I put her in the swing.

So it's 12:10 a.m. and I hear that breathing that I usually hear when she's sleeping. So I look over and she's sound to sleep in the swing.

Time to put her to bed, only it's about 4 hours later than I want to stay up!!!