Back at it again

Ah, the little miss.  Back at it again.

I said to Joel last night, after coming back downstairs for the 3rd time, "Some day, when all she wants to do is sleep, I'm going to go sit next to her bed and just scream."

Of course, I won't.  But if she ever complains about her own kids not sleeping well.  Holy cow.  I am going to have a field day!

The thing is, I have never believed, and I don't believe, that she is doing any of what she is doing out of any kind of intentional act of defiance or mischief.  Who KNOWS what is going on in that pretty little head of hers.

In the few weeks since I last posted that she was doing so amazingly, she's gone back to needing someone nearby to fall asleep, and she's taken to regularly waking about an hour and a half to two hours after she falls asleep to just sit there and scream like a crazy person.  She is inconsolable, and after a few minutes of screaming and acting crazy, she might have a drink of water, and then just lay down and sleep again.  There is no rhyme or reason, and she does settle down much more quickly when I enter the room, than when Joel does.  

What she's going through fits the bill for "night terrors" I guess.  But you know what? Night terrors can kiss my butt.  Night terrors are the IBS of sleep.  No cure, no actual pin-pointable cause- just grin and bear it, and hope it ends somewhat soon.  Grr.  I don't like.

The worst part is, she has also started waking more again in the middle of the night.  And at those times she acts even crazier.  Worst of all, she hits and kicks.  And let me tell you, because I know how much it sucks to fend off a psycho 2 year old when you're asleep, and because I witnessed Joel try to do the same, it doesn't bring out the best in anyone.  It is VERY HARD to deal with this- when you're woken out of sleep by screaming and hitting and kicking, and you try to comfort, and you're met with louder screaming and harder hitting and kicking... it does not in any way, inspire you to meet your two year olds needs with compassion.  At all.

On a positive note however, just after I last posted, Beni went through several days of pooping and peeing anywhere but the potty...and then, one day, it just all changed again, and we haven't have an accident in forever.  Just yesterday, she started using the regular toilet instead of the little potties.  She's been using regular toilets out in the real world with my help, so I guess she figured she could give it a go at home!  One time I noticed she went to the bathroom.  A little while later, I heard the toilet flush.  Then I heard the faucet.  A few minutes later, she came out, said she pooped, and went back to playing.  Done and done, apparently.

Magical second child Zintis on the other hand... is still sleeping wonderfully, though, also not on a predictable schedule.  He generally always falls asleep for his first nap around 8:30am- but sometimes he'll sleep til 11, and sometimes only until 9:30.  Then he'll usually wake up, nurse, and fall almost right back to sleep- except on the mornings when he doesn't.  He definitely has 2 more sleeps in the day, once around lunch time and once more in the late afternoon- sometimes through dinner, and sometimes not.  He's usually ready to go to bed before Beni- more around 7 than 8, but sometimes that'll be just a nap, and he won't go down for the night until 9:30, and sometimes he'll sleep right through til whenever I go to bed.  So right now, at almost 4 mos, he's unpredictable, but, still sleeping long enough stretches often enough that I am left super impressed as compared to his older sister!

He's also rolling back to front and front to back, which is absolutely adorable. And he's inch-worming his way forward, and using ridiculous amounts of concentration to grab things and get them in his mouth. :)  Such a fun phase of baby. :)