I’m ready to brain my daughter.
She’s been a problem sleeper since the day she was born and we’ve jumped through all kinds of parenting hoops trying to work with and around it. She regularly wakes up in the middle of the night and comes into our bed. However, since she’s getting pretty big, it’s much more of a problem than it used to be, and I’m about at my wit’s end. 🙁
We have an antique American double bed, which is barely big enough for the 2 of us, and exremely crowded if you add another body, especially one that squirms. All week long, she’s been slipping into our bed after I’ve put her to bed in her own. I’ve carried her back when I go to bed, but unsurprisingly, I get woken up in the middle of the night at some point when she gets in again or flings an arm out, or pushs me in the back or something. It doesn’t matter quite so much when Anders is gone as he was all week, but last night he got home at 12:30 and we were awakened at around 4 and then again 5:30 by Karin.
When we ask her why she comes in our room, she says it’s boring in her room when she wakes up at night, or that she doesn’t want to be alone, both of which are perfectly understandable, BUT… !!! We really have done everything we can think of: giving her all the stuffed animals she could want, letting her read books in bed when she’s awake, giving her an easy-to-reach-and-turn-on bedside lamp, sitting with her, letting her come and go as she pleases in our bed. We’ve tried plenty of other things, too, that didn’t work (music, for one). Getting up and going in her room with her until she settles down again is no longer an option as she just thinks it’s time to play now that she has an audience and it can take several hours before she actually falls asleep, by which time I’m reaching murderous rage proportions.
Not getting enough sleep, or being constantly awakened during the night is a form of torture, and it’s really getting to me. I’m stressed enough during the day, and I REALLY don’t need this on top of it. 🙁 I’ve tried talking to her, explaining how things are and how they need to be, but she’s four years old and it’s not getting through yet. The thing is, if this were once in awhile, I could deal with it much better, but it’s CONSTANT and has been going on for FOUR YEARS now.
Anders tells me duct tape is not an option.