Night, Night, Sleep Tight

She looked so peaceful sound asleep, except for the fact that...

Well, let me back up a bit here. Last week, I was out of town almost all week for work. Zach said the kids were fabulous for him (of course) and he got major props from everyone for being such an amazing dad and taking care of HIS OWN kids while I was gone (of course). Then I returned home on Friday, but Zach had to leave for his work trip on Sunday. Apparently Julia had had enough of this "being good" business and all hell broke loose when I tried to put her to bed on Sunday night. She's always been good about going to bed, but on Sunday she decided to scream like I was cutting off her arm. Luckily, my parents were here and helped deal with Will while I was trying to calm Julia down. Eventually, after over an hour and a half of rocking, comforting, etc. from both me and my mom, Julia finally gave up the fight.

Same scene on Monday night. Except this time, she's added a new trick: climbing out of her crib. She did that once while we were at the beach, but hadn't done it since, so we thought things were fine in that department. Will NEVER climbed out of his crib, so this is new territory for us. So, Monday night...my wonderful parents are here again helping out. I put Julia down, she's screaming, and then we hear a big thud. She had climbed out of the crib and fallen on the ground, luckily unhurt. I comfort her, try to get her to calm down, and then put her back in the crib. Where she climbs out again, this time more skillfully--no thud. I put her back, she climbs out. (Are you seeing a pattern?) Finally, mom rocks her until she is so exhausted she can't fight it anymore, and she stays in bed. (Only to wake up at 12:30, at which point I gave in and brought her to bed with me until she woke up for the day at 5:30. But that's a whole 'nother story.)

Fast forward to tonight. Mom can't come help, so I'm on my own, praying that Julia will shape up. Things are going pretty well, until I try to put her in bed. I put her in her crib, leave the room, and she immediately starts screaming and climbs right out of her crib. Luckily, she can't open the door to her room yet, but I can hear the cries getting closer to the door, so I know she's out of the crib. I decide to take the hard line...no more rocking. I firmly tell her that it's "night night" and put her back in her crib. She climbs out. And repeat. The third time I put her in the bed, I hear her crying, but it doesn't seem to be getting any closer to the door. I figure she must have been tired and stayed in bed, and her crying subsides pretty quickly. Yes! Victory! Now onto getting Will to bed...

Around 8:30, which was about an hour after I put Julia to bed, I go in her room to check on her. Now here's where we pick up from the beginning of this post. She looked so peaceful sound asleep, except for the fact that SHE WAS IN THE CHAIR! Yes, that's right, the last time when I thought she was in bed, thought the cries weren't getting any closer, thought I had won the battle...she had instead snuggled herself in the rocking chair and rocked herself to sleep. This is what we're dealing with around here.

A little while later, I successfully moved her from the chair to her crib without her waking up. We'll see how long that lasts...