Off Schedule

Gabi hasn't been sleeping lately. And I've been too sick to do much about it. But after last night I think we'll be on a warpath back to our regular schedule. Or I might have to run away.

I'm not sure WHY she's not sleeping. Children her age need 11-12 hours of sleep per 24 hour period, and she's only been averaging about 8. She's also not napping anymore, so we can't make up any sleep loss during the day. And little children who don't get enough sleep are CRANKY. Oh, it's been a joyous time at our house lately.

When I got home from work yesterday, my mom informed me that Gabi had been crying most of the afternoon because she was so tired. I thought, hey, this is good, maybe she'll go to bed on time tonight! Or even early! We headed out to Trader Joe's because I haven't done any major grocery shopping for over two weeks, and we were desperate for things like bread. And cookies.

So here's the breakdown of just the car ride.
Gabi wanted her window down. I rolled it down.
She wanted her window up because it was too windy. I rolled it up.
She wanted another binky, NOT the blue one. I fished around my purse for the red one.
She wanted to know why I had rolled up her window, she only wanted it HALF way up.
Her seatbelt straps were too tight.
She didn't want to go shopping.
And the road was too bumpy.
This is when I started to silently scream. Because all of the above demands were accompanied by crying. Lots and lots of crying.

And then we got to the store. She wanted to walk. Then she wanted to sit in the cart. Then she wanted to walk again. And in her little world here are all the things I did wrong at Trader Joe's that were each reason for their very own meltdown:
I picked apple juice for her treat, instead of cherry juice.
I made her keep and say Thank You for the PINK balloon that was given to her, instead of asking to exchange it for an orange one.
I spent too much time looking at cheese.
I wouldn't let her try the steaming hot sample of tomato soup.
I picked the cereal with the gorilla on it, instead of the cereal with the pandas.
And I put her in her carseat without letting her watch me unload the cart.

The car ride home was pretty much the same as the one to the store. When we got home she cried because I wanted her to eat dinner before having a cookie. And then because I made her sit at the table instead of eating in the living room. That is when I picked her up, walked upstairs, and put her on the bed. Through her sobbing I put on her pajamas, turned off the light, and laid us both down. She cried for a good 10 minutes.

I have to admit that I thought, if I have to listen to all this crying, at least I'm laying down! An hour later, little Miss Gabi had quieted, but couldn't fall asleep. All I could think about was the icecream melting in the bag downstairs. I got up, and Gabi asked if she could come with me in the sweetest voice. Well, what the heck. She didn't end up going to bed until 10:00! And was up again early this morning.

What am I going to do? How do you get kids to fall asleep? I've had a headache since Sunday, but I think I'll just have to put her down at her bedtime and leave her there and deal with the crying, even if it takes hours. She must be exhausted, so hopefully tonight will be the night that we get back on schedule. One thing is for sure, based on the looks that people were giving us in Trader Joe's, we won't be making any more public excursions until she's back to being well rested.