Night Owl

Unfortunately, we now have a night owl in our household. Hopefully, this is only temporary, but Alexa sleep habits have completely changed in the past week, and not for the better. Last Friday, Alexa screamed and screamed when we went to put her to sleep. I wasn't feeling well all day, so I went to bed at 9:30pm and took her with me. It wasn't a peaceful sleep, but we did get some sleep that night. As for Saturday, I took Alexa to the doctor to have her ears checked, but no ear infection and no nap, so we figured bedtime would be easy. Kaitlyn and Lauren went over to Mimi's house, while Daddy went to the Halloween party that we were both supposed to go to. Unfortunately, I still wasn't feeling well and Alexa wouldn't go to sleep, so I ended up holding her on the couch from 8 - 9pm and then brought her up to her crib when she was completely asleep. Sunday comes and Alexa only got about a 30 minute nap in the car. This has continued on for this while week with no naps and bedtime not until late or waking up in the middle of the night.

Now all the days are starting to blend into one another since some nights Alexa will fall asleep in our arms while rocking her and some we have just let her cry herself to sleep, even as late as 10pm. Some nights, she is then waking up and screaming around 3 or 4am. This may not be a huge deal for some people, but all 3 of our girls have slept through the night since they were 2 months old. When you get used to something, it is hard to change to something like this. On top of getting no sleep from Alexa, I have been sick all week and have just wanted to sleep and feel better, so the irritability level is sky high at some moments.

I finally went back to the doctor today, for the 3rd time in 1 week (1 flu shot visit on Thursday & 1 ear check visit on Saturday). The doctor once again found her ears clear and no sign of her 2 year molars. So that left her with the prognosis of Separation Anxiety. On the bright side, the doctor said this is a sign of high level of intelligence. On the bad side, there is no timetable for this, so who knows when we are going to sleep again.

On Monday, I put together Alexa's toddler bed, thinking that she might want to be a big girl like her sisters. We did lay on it together for her nap, but she wasn't fully asleep when I tried getting up. The 2nd time I tried getting up because I was starting to have a coughing fit, the bed decided to fall down on me (one of the slats wasn't in properly, not my weight, Alicia and Erin!). I next tried lying on the floor next to her, but that didn't work and she was now ready to play. Alexa does like to put her babies in the bed, but not herself. The good thing is I really didn't want her switching beds just yet since I don't want her to have that freedom just yet.

Another sign of this separation anxiety was that Alexa wanted to eat on our laps Saturday - Monday, when we realized what was going on and put a stop to it. She did go through 2 meals without eating anything until she realized that she better sit in her chair just so she does starve. So that is now nipped in the bud, now on to the sleeping part...

We keep thinking that she is just going to fall over from exhaustion, but it just hasn't happened yet. We may have to resort to driving her around or walking her in the stroller. Any other suggestions?!

Alexa is becoming more potty trained, so that is always a good thing. Yesterday she went about 5 times on the potty and only 2 or 3 times in the diaper. No if I can only get her to do #2, then we will really be getting somewhere. She is so proud of herself when she goes. Alexa will also start taking off her clothes when she needs to go, so we are right there!

Alexa is also a pretty stubborn and determined little girl. She is already deciding what she will and will not wear each day. I will pick out 3 outfits and she will tell me no to them all. If I try to put something on her that she doesn't want to wear, then she will be fighting me the whole time and she usually gets herself out of most clothes, if she wants to! She does like to go bye-bye, so I have that going for me some days. If I don't push it, then she will take an hour to get dressed and ready to go. I just don't want to even think about her teenage years and the clothes fights we are going to have!