Time for Mama to Do the Dishes

Parker has been having a rough time falling to sleep the past couple of weeks. We converted his crib into a toddler bed because he was starting to talk about beds and he was also looking like he would start climbing out of his crib at any second. He's also about 30 pounds, which is a heavy load to lift in and out of a crib, and my back hurts.

It *might* have been too soon of a transition for him, but the first week or so went so well. In the mornings, Parker would wake up and just wait for me to come and get him -- in his bed. Eventually, though, Parker realized the best part of his "Big Boy Bed" was that he could get in and out of it as he pleased, and from there, going to sleep got harder.

We did some "controlled crying" to help Parker learn how to put himself to sleep when he was about 5 months old and Jeremy and I just couldn't handle 3 hours of screaming to sleep every night. It was terrible: Night 1, 32 minutes of crying. Night 2, 44 minutes of crying. Night 3, 7 minutes of crying. Night 4, no crying. Night 5, no crying. And from then on out, Parker was pretty easy to put to sleep.

Until two weeks ago. And now that he can talk, "controlled crying" is not just miserable, it's perplexing. The boy knows how to lie! After we let him cry for about 15 minutes one night -- with regular 5-minute check-ins to put him back in bed -- he yelled, "Parker poo poo!" So as dutiful parents who don't want their child sleeping in a dirty diaper, we went into his room to change him only to find out that his diaper was clean! What a little scam artist!

I feel like we've tried everything. Being kind, being harsh. Crying it out, sleeping beside him. Moving bedtime earlier, pushing it later. Today, while putting Parker in his bed for a nap, I just told him straight: "Parker is going to take a nap, because Parker is tired, and it is time for a rest. Also, when Parker is sleeping, mama  has to do some work."

He stopped sucking ferociously on his blanket and looked at me for a few seconds before stating, "Time for Mama to do the dishes." I swear, he's a GENIUS. Why didn't I think of explaining it to him so matter-of-factly sooner?

"That's right, Parker. Mama has to do the dishes. So when Mama leaves the room, Parker needs to close his eyes and stay in bed. And no crying."

He returned to sucking ferociously on his blanket, then rolled over.

"See you soon, Parker. Have a nice nap. I love you so much," I said, as I tiptoed out of the room.

No response. No getting out of bed. And no crying. Indeed, time for Mama to do the dishes.