Well, That Didn't Go As Planned

So the go to be early experiment of last night was a crushing disaster. She didn’t fall asleep until after 9:00.

Wanna know why?

Because Lyssie wasn’t up there with us. As we’ve established, Olivia is a creature of habit. She likes to have things scheduled and planned and just so. She also likes things to be consistent.

So it didn’t work for her for me to go up with her and lay down while she fell asleep. Her sister was missing. She wasn’t in the top bunk to Olivia’s bottom bunk. O just couldn’t settle when she didn’t know where her sister was.

But really, it’s not fair to Alyssa to have to go to bed at 8:00 just because her sister can’t fall asleep without her in the room. So we’ll work through this one too.

We’re going to try again tonight, though we’re pushing it back to 8:30 in hopes of catching O at just the right sleepy time.

Alyssa was frustrated last night too. See, she enjoys sitting beside me on the couch after Olivia’s asleep and just, well , being together.

She didn’t get that last night and she was understandably grumpy about it. As I was braiding her hair, Alyssa grouched, “Why can’t you just tuck her in and leave when it’s time for her to go to bed?”

Ha! She’s heard me grouch about that very thing.

I told her, “Because I never taught her to do that. I never did that with you either, you know.”

She begrudgingly admitted that she did know that.

I continued, “I hope when you’re a mom, if you choose to be a mom, that your kids are excellent sleepers, that you teach them from the start to fall asleep on their own, to sleep in their own beds, to go back to sleep on their own if they wake up at night. I hope, basically, that you’re a better mom than I am.”

She sighed. “You’re not a bad mom for not teaching us to sleep alone.”

“I know,” I told her. “I’m just as tired as you are of being tied to a routine but I know that works for you and for Livie. It’s one night, Sweets. We can snuggle on the couch tomorrow during The Middle.”

At that point, Olivia had gotten out of bed to come find us and Alyssa growled at her, “Go to sleep!”

I hissed at Alyssa, “Be nice. We’re all going to go to sleep now.”

And once all her dear ones were where they were supposed to be, Olivia (and Alyssa and I) did just that. We went to sleep and slept all night long. It was lovely.