I really appreciate the advice that I have been given from people reading this blog. I have enjoyed hearing from old and new friends, and the help is most welcome!!
Here is the update…
After our glorious night of sleep, we celebrated by taking the family to the zoo. We strategically planned our outing for the afternoon hours, during nap time. We had a great time, and the boys were EXHAUSTED on the way home. We even had to keep giving the 2 year old mints to keep him awake. I was almost giddy thinking about how easy it was going to be to put them to bed than night, and I was so looking forward to the quiet evening hours. But I made a huge mistake. The little guy got the dreaded “second wind”. He went from completely exhausted to ready to go in the short span of dinner and bath. I did every part of our nighttime routine in the same way, but as soon as I left, I heard the clunk clunk clunck down the hallway (he doesn’t quite have a pitter patter of his little feet 🙂 ). So, here we went again. I continued to put him in bed for an hour an a half. Finally, I went downstairs and all was quiet. When I went to check a while later, I found him asleep on the end of the 4 year old’s bed. His big brother ended up waking up in the middle of the night FURIOUS with his company!
So, I decided to try skipping the nap one more time, thinking I would then move bedtime even earlier. Again, we had a full day including playing hard at the pool through nap time. We came home, showered, and prepared for dinner. Well, my little guy fell asleep sitting up, and started SNORING! Oh no! A nap at 5:00 was the worst possible situation! He then woke up at 7:00 p.m., thinking it was morning. Ahh!
Let’s just say that bedtime last night didn’t go so well. By 10:00, I had all 3 kids in my bed, if that is any indication. Oh well. No one has kids because of the sleep benefits. At least that is what I will keep telling myself. 🙂