Bedtime Is For The Weak..

Now I can't even begin to imagine how many times I have written about Princess's sleeping routine.. or lack of it. Probably at least a dozen, am I right?

Some days we think we have it cracked. Other times there is just no sense of routine at all.

But here's the catch 22. It doesn't matter how much we implement the routine.. they just don't stick. Now I know most people will blame Ross and me for that.. but it's honestly not our fault.

We can go a week or two with Princess having her bath, dinner and bed at a set time. And then out of nowhere.. it doesn't work. She won't sleep, she won't even get in to bed.

When Ross's Mum passed away, her bed time routine went straight out of the window. We stayed up at his Mums house for a week or so and Princess would be up till late with the rest of us. Even though she was up at the crack of dawn, it didn't matter. She just would not settle.

Now every thing is slowly returning to normal.. her sleep isn't. I was getting so sick of hearing "Don't worry, she'll sleep when she starts nursery!" that I almost feel like throwing this in their faces. Well over a month in at nursery, and she is still no more tired than before. If anything, she's just a lot more cranky.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder if she has ADHD. I absolutely hate the thought of tarring her with that brush, but I also know it's a very common illness in children these days.

Her lack of need for sleep is just one in a thousand other symptoms, but I also know it's very hard to diagnose in such young children. She's only 3. I know of parents who have waited years for a diagnosis and things still aren't clear for them.

For now we're coping. It's hard work being up with a toddler at 7.30am who then doesn't start to quieten down until 2am, but we don't seem to have much choice. I'm just glad that Ross is at home to stay awake until the early hours when I have work the next day.

And the next person who suggests "why don't you get up earlier?" .. I will gladly like you to try staying up until 2-3am with a toddler and then getting up at 6am where she will continue the day full of beans until the following 2am.

You won't be saying it for much longer.

Now if you'll excuse me.. it's nearly 10pm and I have a toddler to deal with!