1.5 Inches of Communication

I guess you could say our sleep struggles with Norah continue. We actually feel okay about how things are going in general, but our standards are low. We definitely don't leave Norah peacefully laying in her bed when we say good night. We're never quite sure what each evening will bring.

The only consistent thing about our nighttime routine is that it is inconsistent. Sometimes we don't hear much. But many nights we have to go back in to change a poopie diaper (we think she is avoiding going on the potty so she holds it all day until we put a diaper on for bed). And other nights she yells something out at us through the 1.5-inch crack at the bottom of her door: "Mommy this not working anymore." (Her glow worm needs a new battery.) "One more sip of milk." "My baby doll needs a diaper change." There. Is. Always. Something.

Our approach is to go back in as infrequently as possible (pretty much only for diaper changes). When we do, we can count on at least one more attempt at a stall tactic. One time she said, "Um, mommy, I need...I need...I need............some-fing." Brother.

I wrote recently about sticking her blankets under the 1.5-inch crack at the bottom of the door and not exchanging any words. Two nights ago she was requesting a tissue (she has a head cold). So Seth got a tissue and stuck it under the door. She promptly took it, and as Seth was walking away she said, "Here you go daddy" and pushed the used tissue back under the door to him. He said, "Thanks, got it. Goodnight. I love you." She responded, "I love you," and we didn't hear another peep.

Last night when mom was putting her to bed she found a small dust ball between her bed and the wall (oops). She asked if it was okay to put it in the middle of the floor, and mom said, "Sure - we'll take care of it in the morning." Soon after the door was closed she started saying something that mom couldn't understand through the 1.5-inch crack, but then she looked down and realized Norah was pushing the dust ball under the door. Mom said, "Okay, thanks - got it!"

She has slept in her bed a bit more recently at night and for naps, but still seems to sleep on the floor at the door quite a bit. I guess she still hasn't figured out that her bed is more comfortable. We'll wait.

I think the reason we are generally okay with the situation is our sleep isn't very affected. The drama all comes before we go to bed (generally when we are eating dinner). In fact, it has sort of become our dinner entertainment, especially with mom and dad here the past few days.

My mom and dad are taking Norah to my cousin's wedding in Michigan this weekend. Dad went back to Chicago this morning after being here since Saturday, and Mom and Norah are flying standby on a 6:30 flight tonight. Then tomorrow the three of them will drive 6 hours north to the wedding. Meanwhile Seth and I will have some quality time with Macy. Good luck, mom and dad!