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tired girl = MONSTER!

i'm so at a loss for what to do with layla lately.  she's given up naps but still technically needs them.  but if she does nap, she stays up until like 10pm.  either way, it's a bad situation.  now, with the whole time change thing, she's getting up before the crack of dawn, making things even better.  every evening is a huge struggle now, leaving me trying to get dinner ready and deal with micah's antics, shane's activities and whatnot, with her whining or falling apart or fighting with shane or getting into trouble because she gets all hung up on doing something that i'm telling her not to do.  it is MOST unpleasant.  then, by the time dinner is actually on the table, she's too wigged out and almost never eats it, something i'm sure is doing wonders for her general mood as well.  then comes the getting jammies on/brushing teeth/getting into bed battle.  it's like it never ends.  she's so tired she can't function in a civilized fashion, but she won't just go to bed.  that's when she gets all high-maintenance and insists on taking up gobs of my time that i can't give her because i have 2 other kids that are usually attempting in one way or another to get my attention too. 

what do i do here? do i try to make her take a nap (which is a battle in itself, and usually unsuccessful) and then deal with her up all night? or do i keep having her power through and deal with nightly HELL?  either way, she's driving me crazy and right now my evenings really suck! 

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  1. RachelNovember 4, 2008 at 7:01 PM

    Ok...I have had some of this with Rachel and in the end we created a chart with an incentive at the weekend if she was good during the week. So on Rachel's chart I would have... be a good girl, have no fuss on, go to bed like a good girl, clean teeth, etc...etc. I know Rachel has never really been a napper and if she does have a lie in on a morning or for any reason she does have a sleep during the day then we are doomed when it comes to bed time. Also if Rachel gets over tired then we are screwed too and she won't sleep then either and I am talking raising the flippin roof with tantrums and hysterics!
    So...i have to keep her sleeping patterns consistant and get her up early and get her to bed at a decent time! Have you tried putting Layla to bed at say 6.30pm in the hope that she will adjust to a suitable sleep pattern.
    Rachel...at the end of the day, all you can do is keep your fingers crossed and hope she gets through this quickly!
    I am thinking of you and the site for the charts that I use is:
    http://www.dltk-cards.com/chart/index.html
    Rachel and I build them together so we can set goals together and so she understands why she has a chart she gets quite excited to chose the theme and help decide what her goals should be and what 'prize' she would like if she gets lots of stickers on her chart!
    Good luck Rachel! Otherwise just sell her! HaHa Just kidding OBVIOUSLY!

    ReplyDelete

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