Wednesday, September 19, 2007

first day


well I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for lulu to start her first day of pre-school.
the weather is absolutely gorgeous and I really love this time of year.
I'm glad I didn't quite retire the flip flops just yet.

So her first day went really well.
I simply dropped her off and she was like an old pro.
no separation anxiety at all.
whew.
same goes for me.
Not nearly as emotional as I thought it might be. then again I'm too exhausted to be emotional...more on that in a minute.
I actually had time to run some errands at a leisurely pace and stop for a latte break.
it's been so long since I felt like I had any "free" time that I wasn't sure what to do with it.
should I go to the gym? book a manicure? go for a massage? get some things organized at home? start working on a job for next week? shop for some new fall clothes? read the paper or my book? get the car washed and detailed?
finish the gardening? get groceries???
or just slowly sip a tall half sweet vanilla soy latte and people watch on a beautiful sunny day?
I did the latter.
and glad I did- what a treat.
I also managed to get some groceries too.
even if I had wanted to do all the other stuff I really don't have the energy.
Lulu hasn't slept through the night in weeks.
now that she's potty trained she calls out at 1, 3 and 6 a.m. trying every excuse in the book to get us to come to her.
we are both at our wits end and feel like walking zombies.
It's like having a new-born all over again.
Is it something we are doing? is this normal for 2.5 year olds?
we put her down at around the same time every night-8ish
our routine is pretty much the same each night- dinner, watch a bit of Little Bear, snack, bath, brush teeth, 3 stories, 2 minutes of singing or humming to her then at last...bed.
she naps at around the same time each day 1-3 so what's up??
she is so great on so many other levels, but the sleep thing is killing us.
really.
I'm really hoping that now that she is in pre-school that it tires her out and she starts sleeping through the night.
if not...well I'm at a complete loss.
I'm pretty sure we have tried everything.
or not- any tips or suggestions? anyone??
In the mean time- all I can say is thank- g-d for caffeine and pre-school/latte breaks.

9 comments:

Betsy Mae said...

i can't help you there, that's one thing my kids did do...sleep through the night. my struggles are with bedtime. if they have one night that is out of our usual routine, watch out! i pay the price for a good week or two. do you think it's just a phase because of the potty training? perhaps she doesn't need that nap? i'm finding bug (my 2 1/2 year old) isn't quite ready for bed at her usual time anymore and i think it's the afternoon nap that's reviving her too mcuh.
good luck...hope someone has some good suggestions for you. oh and i'm sure you will find that preschool will tire her out which is always a good thing.

Anonymous said...

Same thing going on here. Big boy gets up several times in the night, grabs his blankie and trots his way into our bed. It would be cute if I wasn't so exhausted.

That being said, I have no advice, because I am in the same boat. Have you thought about removing / reducing the afternoon nap? We are toying with the idea.

kittenpie said...

oh boy. I'm no help here. We have sleepthrough.

crazymumma said...

I'd just pull her into my bed for the next couple of years.

But my hubby did not like taht so much. But sleep is sleep you know?

And there are other places to do the nasty.

Gabriella said...

That's so wonderful that Lulu had such a great first day! It makes things so much easier.
As for the not sleeping thing, I have no advice, we're nowhere near Lulu's stage yet. I think Samantha's 4 mths younger than Lulu and is still in her crib and not potty trained yet. Does Lulu sleep with a pull up at night or is she completely diaper free...I would suggest a pull up but maybe that's going backwards. Sorry...I'm sure in another 8 mths I'll be asking the same thing.

amanda said...

I wish I had some words of wisdom. The lack of sleep only seems to make everyday tasks ten times harder. Hopefully this is a short stage for her. On a lighter note congrats on her first day of preschool... adorable picture. Perfect.

motherbumper said...

No advice, just support and solidarity zombie sister. But omg, Lulu's backpack is super cute (is it the one with the matching luggage? I'm tempted to get that for B - it's super cool).

Laural Dawn said...

I'm not sure if this is helpful or not, but my son naps/has quiet time from 1-3 at daycare. And, he has crappy sleeps at night. On the weekends it's either no nap or very early. His sleep patterns are so much better on days when he has an early nap or no nap.
If you can, maybe try an earlier nap or shorter nap one day? I just find he's more tired that way and sleeps more soundly.
I'm not expert - but maybe???

moplans said...

That is amazing news about preschool. My child has separation anxiety and it sucks!
She's better now.
Also was always a terrible sleeper.
I had to take away her nap to get her to sleep at night.
I know.
but it worked.
I'd rather sleep all night than get a break in the afternoon and be woken at 3 am.
Preschool may help tire her out though so hold off on taking away the nap if you can.
I let my daughter nap every other day for a while and an earlier bedtime too.