iPad night-light

Whew!!! Bedtime has been a major struggle for us lately. It has ended in tears many nights (for me and Hudson) and is literally wearing me out. I truely think we have the MOST strong-willed child on the planet and on top of that he is s.m.a.r.t. Therefore, you can imagine the battle we go through each night with this night owl. And in his defense, its his internal clock that cannot be changed. We raised and scheduled both babies the exact same way. I was annoyingly structured with each and we did not miss a naptime nor an early bedtime. And where it was a breeze with Hadley, poor Hudson just can't wrap his head around going to bed early. Hadley will ask to go to bed at night and occasionally even asks for a nap still....but she is up bright and early and ready to go by 6:30 every morning. On the other hand, Hudson will fight until he can't fight anymore but then sleeps soundly until sometimes 11:00 in the morning. It is crazy just how different they can be!

So back to the post, we have to be creative EVERY SINGLE NIGHT to get him upstairs. Because just "telling him" doesn't work so well. Sometimes we race upstairs, sometimes we take a snack, sometimes we find a special toy, sometimes we give him the choice of being carried or walking, and sometimes we just drag him up there screaming. This particular night we let him finish his tv show upstairs just to get him up there. After planting him on the middle of a pallet and turning off the lights, I laid beside him and stared at his precious face while anticipating the next 30 minutes. I just watched him. Those chubby cheeks, sweet smile, big brown eyes, long eyelashes, and button nose. He is the happiest at night. He loves to be up with us, cuddling and watching tv. He doesn't want to miss out on anything. And though we will probably always struggle with getting him in bed, he won't always want me in there and he won't always ask for "one more kiss, three more books, three more minutes of laying with him." I try to remember that when I get so frustrated that I have been in his room for over an hour. This particular night was easy. I just stared at him and wasn't really in any rush to get him in bed either...