The Moment You Get Cocky: Bedtime Blues

People have asked me how Lucan’s been doing in his big boy bed. And of course I nonchalantly say “oh, it’s going great. Lucan’s always been a good sleeper. He may not do a ton of the other things we ask him, but he’s always been a great sleeper.” 

Someone should have slapped me right then and there. DON’T GET COCKY KARA.

The last couple of weeks have been a little rocky. Lucan has gotten into the habit of getting out of bed and wanting to read by himself after we put him to bed. This was okay for a little while because he was just reading a couple of books. But then he shredded one of his favorite books for no apparent reason. A couple of books has grown into Lucan staying up reading/playing FOR AN HOUR past his bedtime. At first I thought it was kind of precious and sweet (insert: “awww … my kid loves reading just like me! That’s so cute!”) but the late nights of Lucan reading in his rocking chair have translated into ROUGH mornings. Because if Lucan is anything, he’s like me. Which means he likes late nights and is a bear of a person in the mornings. We’ve had morning after morning where Lucan has cried inconsolably because he’s too tired, he doesn’t want lights on (me), he doesn’t want to change out of his jammies (also me) and just wants to lay in bed and go back to sleep (all of us). I’ve tried employing some of the same techniques I use to ease myself into mornings (turning off the white noise machine, gently introducing some light and noise and having as little to do as possible in the mornings) but apparently toddler reasoning doesn’t work as well as adult reasoning. 

By the time I get Lucan and Lance out the door, I can barely release a sigh of relief I’m so tired by all the drama. It sets the tone of my entire day and it’s not good. My child is not a morning person and neither am I. 

So when you ask me how the big boy bed is going, I’ll say … Lucan is consistently getting out of bed at night, but staying in his room to read books. Our mornings are harried and most of the time awful because of this. 

This is me. Not being cocky.