Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tonight was tereable. My toddler will not stay in bed and i am so stressed I could go nuts! Sometimes I feel like I am doing it all by myself, but I know the Good Lord is helping me even though I dont feel like it at times. I have been a single mom and there are times when I just feel like I still am even though my husband sleeps soundly in bed as I deal with an out of control toddler.
There are many pretty searous issues surrounding this. I just got my daughter back from foster care where she was placed for about a year dew to our mistakes with drugs and drinking. I know its much harder on her, but what I dont know is how to parent her correctly. I feel like a bad mom when she sobs about bed time, but then again I know bounderies need to be in place for her to feel safe. I try to sit beside her little bed with her, read, sing and pray with her after about a half an hour of that we turn the lights ont and she wants the dog, daddy, to pee, to drink and all the above repeats..she is nearly entirely pottyy trained so when she says i need to pee i take her in there and she sits on her little chair and states " I want to eat " I know she is not hungry, she did not have to pee, and she is working me. Paitence I have to say I need to work on a bit, but after 2 hours its ten at night and she finally fell into a deep enoufgh sleep that I was able to tip toe out of her bedroom and here I am. I'm wiped.
I know what to do? do i? do i just lay there with her? she wants to talk, get dog-dog, etc..she will not stay in her bed unless I AM IN THERE!! So do I just make that the nightly routeen? I guess it will be untill she adjusts more.
I feel so bad that I did this to her. Ug.
Well im off to giveaway land then to bed..toodles.

4 comments:

  1. oh, that sounds rough! She WILL adjust as long as you keep firm boundaries- she is probably just feeling really insecure with all the changes and needs a little extra TLC for awhile. My youngest just turned 3 and we had a major move this year and her schedule was COMPLETELY messed up... she started waking up at all hours and her potty training disappeared. I just have been laying down with her to get her to sleep and slowly she is relaxing about bedtime. Huge changes can be very hard on a kid!

    ANYWAY- you won a giveaway on my blog and your email address doesn't work! Please email me asap with your correct information taradawnrobertson at hotmail dot com.

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  2. Bedtime is much a ritual for us when my children were younger as well. Eventually what works is taking controll and letting them know you love them but enough is enough and these are the rules You will see all will come out in the rain and the love and bond will still be there

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  3. I very much admire your desire to want to help her be well adjusted and happy. Maybe she feels that desire and knows that you would do anything for her. hint, hint!) Just let her know that you will do a few things for her before bed, but then you expect her to settle herself down and sleep. Let her know it's her responsibility and that you know that she can do it. Good luck with your giveaways! I also am fascinated with this type of stuff!

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  4. I have an almost 2 year old who has ALWAYS been SO easy to get to bed. I could just lay her down and off she would go into dreamland. Well, recently she was really sick with this stomach virus and she and I slept in the recliner all day. That night I was worried that she was going to throw up in her bed so I let her sleep with me and my son (my husband works nights). Naptime, the recliner again. That night, I thought she should sleep with me one more night. The following night I put her in the bed and she screamed. I ended up sleeping on the double bed in her room that night because I was worried she still wasn't feeling well. The next night, I thought she HAD to be playing me. I laid her down and she screamed. I started out checking on her and giving her a kiss every 10 minutes. After an hour I tried spanking her. The 3rd (ugh...am I a bad mom), I just let her scream. The next night she only screamed an hour but I only checked on her twice to let her know I was still there. The next night she only screamed about 5 minutes. She screamed at least 5 minutes for about 3 more nights but now, we are back to normal. Some parents don't agree with the cry it out but my daughter knows I love her and she loves me right back. I say all of that to say, stick with it...you are a good mom. There is no manual for parenting and we have to do the best we can. Thank GOD, he made children very forgiving and loving. Best of luck to you. See you on my blog!!!

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