Night Owl

Amelia is a bit of a night owl, and while she comes by it honestly (from me), I wish she would fall asleep faster. It's not unusual for her to lie in bed for an hour or even two before she finally falls asleep. Generally she's very good about staying in bed and being quiet while she tries to go to sleep. I just hate the fact that it takes her so long! Especially because I know she needs her sleep. But, you can't force a child to sleep, so I've learned to accept it...more or less.

While Amelia moved herself to the big girl bed a while back, she's been going back and forth between the bed and the crib for the last months or so. Then the other day, she climbed into the crib by herself. We had suspected she could do this, but for whatever reason, she doesn't think she can climb out. So, I made a big deal out of it and told her that means she's too big for the crib now and on her birthday we can take it out of her room.

I gave Jeff the heads up, and he made an equally big deal out of it when he came home. Amelia was all smiles, talking about what a big girl she is and how she doesn't need the crib anymore. She's been very, very good about sleeping in the bed ever since.

From the time Amelia was a little baby, we've played an ocean sounds CD in her room all night long. (Hey, when your child doesn't sleep, you'll try almost anything!) We joke that she's going to think she grew up on the coast. In the last week, she's asked for the "Mama bird song," that is on another sleepytime CD we sometimes play as we get ready for bed. The song is "Hush Little Baby," and the lyrics are, "... mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird." I chuckle every time she says "mama bird" instead of "mocking bird."

I did have to go in the other night and turn the sound down a couple notches. I was slowly going crazy hearing the occasional snatch of that song over and over and over. When I'm old and senile and shuffling around the nursing home in my slippers you'll all know why I keep singing the "Mama bird song" endlessly.