More of the same, more or less...

Last night was a lot better than Sunday night. Amor Chiquito got up 3 times. The second time it took us about 45 minutes to get her back to sleep. That was still a lot better than Sunday night because she gave us 2 3.5 hour chunks and there were no crying incidents.

The other good thing is that Amor Chiquito slept until 7am, whereas, the past few weeks, she had been waking up around 5:30 and the only way to get her to sleep was to let her nibble herself to sleep on our bed. It seemed, to me, that there was a pattern: if it was dark, she would go back down in her crib; if there was light, she was either up or in bed with us. Abuela installed the shade I bought months ago and so far so good. Seems like it worked like a charm. Let's see what happens tonight. I am cautiously hopeful!

As for her nap and eating, that is a whole other story. It is 3pm and she has not had lunch or napped. I have offered rice, beans, milk, and other things I know she likes right now. Amor Chiquito won't eat. She won't even sit down. Amor Chiquito just takes off and wonders around the kitchen. She is often completely ignoring me. Freakin' terrible two's! I guess I can't reread Love and Logic soon enough!

I really wish I knew why she will eat like a horse some times and other times she just does not care for food, no matter who does what. I also wish I knew why she will often eat great with my mother but not with me. Come on, kid, my food is not that bad!

As for the nap, every time I say it is time to nurse and sleep, she begins naming foods she wants. Of course, when I offer, she won't eat them. The other thing she is doing is running in our bedroom and climbing in our bed. Lastly, when I talk about naptime, she starts to cry. If she manages to get away, she starts playing like nothing ever happened. I guess that is, by definition, being impish.

What next? I don't know. I don't know what else to try. Maybe I'll end up nursing her to sleep on her bedroom floor again. I don't want to send mixed signals, but I don't know what else to do. I am not willing to leave her bedroom and let her scream herself to sleep. I am desperate, but not that desperate.

If you have any suggestions, comment away!