I'm failing to put Tali to sleep. It's almost 30 minutes past her bedtime and every minute adds one more straw to this camel's back. I sing her all the shield chorus) night sing songs I can remember, alternating parts with each repetition, stroke her side, (often) climb into her
crib with her to hold her down but she still wrestles with me. I disappoint myself when I forget to cherish these opportunities to pray over her, to prophesy good things and blessings over every aspect of her life.
Reminder to self: don't forget tomorrow.
I can let her cry. I do mind letting her cry, but I've done it. I would let her cry it out, but with her enhanced toddler strength and amount of thrashing, she usually ends up with extra bruises on her
head the next morning. Plus, I like to avoid 45 minutes of screaming
whenever possible.
I climb into her crib and use my body as a human harness to hold her limbs down until she finally relaxes and passes out. Fortunately, this is a quiet process. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a while.
You're married to Eric, have you not asked him to make a harness to
hold her down? Ah yes! I have traveled down that road before. The only
problem is that she is also half Eric and has figured out how to get out of
harnesses that I have put her in. I used some of our climbing webbing to strap my little Houdini down once and she just sat up in bed (still harnessed to the crib) and started wailing. The harness ideas
didn't ever seem like a very safe idea concerning circulation or strangulation... Besides the fact that they didn't hold her down anyways... So we gave up on that idea.
She doesn't want to go to sleep because she doesn't want to miss out.
She doesn't know that sleep is good for her and helps her to grow. She doesn't know that relaxing and going to sleep when I put her down is a blessing to me because it's how I've organized her day. She doesn't want me to leave her because she's afraid that when I've left the room that I've really left her for good.
Fear and lack of understanding are innate.
Oh God, help me to rest in the green pastures that you place me. Help
me to trust and obey when you tell me to sleep. Help me to grow and gain strength as I rest so that I may glorify You in the morning. Remind me that rest in You means more strength in the shadowy
valleys. Thank you for the nights you hold me down until I sleep. I will try harder to surrender to your plans for me because I know that like You, they are so good!
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalms 23:2 NKJV)
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