It has been well documented that Zoey is not a sleeper. As in, never has been, and potentially never will be. It took her the first 15 months of life to establish that a nap during the day is not, actually, the worst thing in the world, and sleeping through the night has always been hit-or-miss. (Light on "hit", heavy on "miss".) While we catch the occasional growth spurt that causes her to sleep continuously from 8 or 9 pm until 7 or 8 am, these spurts are woefully few and far between.
(I believe the above information in more than adequate in justifying why we do not have another baby, another one on the way, nor any plans for a new baby in the immediate future. I mean, seriously, what if Zoey IS our sleeper?)
I know it could be worse (my friend Kate comes to mind, with her daughter Milly, who has NEVER napped and refuses to go to bed until 10 pm or later most nights), and I also know that, as a parent, you learn to adapt to your own child's personality and the phase he or she happens to be in at the moment. It's what helps us function on little or no sleep, serve chicken nuggets for every godforsaken meal, or sing endless rounds of Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Of course, then there are the behaviors that we see in our children that we don't particularly care for, and if we invest a lot of time and energy in correcting the bad behavior (say, coloring on the furniture or throwing temper tantrums in the store), we will most likely win--no more Magic Marker on the sofa and easier trips to Target. I am pretty sure that getting up three times a night when you're two years old is a behavior that would likely make Super Nanny cringe. I know I should nip this behavior in the bud. But I don't.
See, I COULD be consistent, and for two weeks straight (which is the length of time said to be required when establishing new habits) maintain a routine of 8 pm bedtimes, returning Zoey to her own bed each and every time she gets up, and not giving in and just bringing her to bed with me when she flips the goddamn hall light on at 1:27 am for the fourth night in a row. I could fight her personality, and probably modify her behavior, but I just don't. It's too much work.
Not that I haven't come up with some good excuses in the recent past to explain why she might not be sleeping: she's potty training, and every new developmental stage brings with it a disruption in the sleep cycle (thank you, T. Berry Brazelton MD). She might be having nightmares. She misses Bryan, who has been gone quite a bit in recent weeks.
The fact of the matter is that it's just easier to bring her to bed with me, or if Bryan is home and I don't feel like sharing the bed with a snoring husband and flailing toddler, getting her some hot milk (that yes, I realize she does not NEED at 2 am) and snuggling her back to sleep in her own bed. You figure out in the early stages of bringing home a newborn that, in order to survive, you just do whatever it takes to get the most sleep possible. When you have a child like Zoey, the survivalist nature lingers on into toddlerhood and you soon find yourself, two years later, still doing whatever it takes to get the maximum hours of shut-eye each night.
So, I may be lazy, and inconsistent, but the thought of spending two weeks straight fighting with my two-year-old EVERY FRIGGING NIGHT at 1:30 am makes me cringe. I just can't do it. At least, not right now.
And every morning, I repeat the following phrase to myself:
"There is coffee waiting for you in the kitchen. And in 6 hours, she will go down for a nap."
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