The Definition of Bedtime Crazy

The definition of crazy is doing the same thing every time expecting different results.

Every night, I put Adam in bed, read more books than I feel like reading, and then fight with him for a solid hour about whether or not he will go to sleep.  The boy’s excuses/delays are endless:

But mommy.  I have to tell you something.

I love you mommy.

I’m hungry.

I’m thirsty.

I need X Y AND Z and once you find those, I’ll want  A and B too.

I want to watch the show.

I need reindeer.

You need reindeer.

I want to snuggle.

That last one always gets me.  I miss my little infant boy who snuggled for hours.  This one that I have now is more like greased lightning than snuggleupagus.  It’s so hard to say “no, no snuggles.  Go to bed.”  But I do it.  Mostly because I am worn completely out at that point.

So the bedtime struggle.  What to do?

Come little boy….let’s set the timer for ten minutes.  Come snuggle in Mommy’s big red chair.  When the timer goes off, then Mommy’s all out of snuggles… YOU will have allll the snuggles!!    We will talk about reindeers, and cars, and big diggers with scoops, and when the bell goes off, you will go to bed and go to sleep.

A 10 minute love investment saved 60 minutes of pleading, whining, and finally demanding.

And the best part?  No one had to cry.