Ughh!! What do you do with your toddler the morning after a sleepless night?
April 11, 2011 at 11:10 am 2 comments
Last night I was up with my 8 month old from 2 – 4:30am . . . then, my 2 year-old got up 6:30am. Marcus tried to convince him not to wake me and to let me rest, but as soon as he left, OLG1 started his usual morning routine. I’m hungry, I want to play, when will you get up, I don’t want to play in my room, I don’t wan to get my own snack. I don’t want to rest with you . . . he climbed on me and rather than cuddling as I described in a previous post, tossed and turned and yelled in my ear . . . It was horrible. The only reason why I have the clarity of thought to consider writing about it is because help is on the way. My sister is coming to help, to play with OLG1 so I can sleep and recover my patient, calm approach to parenting. I searched online for thoughts about how to manage a morning like this and didn’t find anything. So, here’s my question, what would you do if this happened to you? What is your go to strategy for managing a toddler after a night with very little sleep? By the way, I nurse the little one, so caffeine is not the best solution . . . if that weren’t the case, I would certainly have made myself a cup of coffee.
Here are some of the ideas I tried without much success:
1. Encourage the toddler to watch television while mom gets enough sleep to be able to think clearly. By this I mean 45 minutes to an hour more . . . I’m not an advocate of television for small children .
2. Mom rests in his room while he plays close by.
3. Mom rests in bed while the baby nurses and the toddler eats cereal in her bed.
The solution I ultimately settled on was calling for help . . . first a friend . . . she recommended I call someone who might be able to play with my toddler long enough for me to get in a good nap.
~S
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1.
milton | April 15, 2011 at 9:06 am
I have trouble with the words” tried to convince” at some point I must not have to be convinced I must Just DO, because I have been instructed by the leadership. How can I be convinced when I am in control and have my mind made up not to do what you say?
These issues must be addressed concerning control/authority. When you can not sustain / take care of / provide for yourself then someone must be in charge and if we relinquish this, then all parties can suffer. Also, when giving instruction there are consequences the follow failure to obey. This is the crux of your dilemma … what do I do to prove my ability to lead and confirm my authority.
In my upcoming book “Children Must” I will expound on the intricacies of discipline and reward in relationship to growth and progress in the socialization of children ages 2-6 with a focus on
continued growth toward obedience because of love.
Yours in the struggle.
Mr. Dad :^)
note: Jesus Loves you and so do I
2.
W | April 15, 2011 at 10:14 am
In your situation, I would get up if at all possible and do whatever it took to tire the older one out so that he would take a longer-than-normal nap. With B, protein usually spells the answer to expediency in the morning. Anything quick would due – beef jerky, if you have to. Cereal or any other breakfast low in protein turns him into a nut. At naptime, I would congratulate myself for making it that far, lay down with the baby, nurse and SLEEP for the entire time the kid(s) are out. I would feel like the walking dead the whole morning but the afternoon would fix it in time not to beat hubby up too much that night.