I thought it was suppose to get better!!!

Ever since I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I have been chatting on the MSN message boards, specifically, the pregnancy board. There I have heard (read) all about various sleep issues. Newborns that were confused, toddlers that have reverted, and very sleepy momma's asking for help (myself included) to figure out what to do.

Now, don't get me wrong, my daughter hasn't always had sleep issues. She was a WONDERFUL sleeper for about the first 16 months of her life. I'd put her in her bed, she'd cuddle under her blanket, and be asleep within minutes. And then we moved. The house we were renting was next door to some inconsiderate people that felt it was ok for dogs to bark all night, so guess what? They did. Unfortunately my daughter's bedroom was right next to the dogs, so for whatever reason at 11pm EVERY NIGHT last december, those dang dogs started barking waking her up.

Now I am a parent that values sleep...immensely. My personal philosophy has always been, put baby to bed in their bed and if baby wakes up, bring baby to my bed, since said baby sleeps better in my bed. This was not a problem in anyway, because my daughter very seldom woke up during the night. But thanks to those !@#@#%#^$$#%@#$@ dogs she got into a habit of waking up each night, at the same time each night. Now I can't blame her for waking up, it wasn't her fault, but it still has made things very tough on momma.

Well, bring on my first bright idea. Yes, that's right, transition to the toddler bed, because, maybe she just needs more space. *sigh* no such luck. That has actually made everything a lot worse. So now, each night, it's a fight to get her to stay in her bed. She will cry for hours (if I don't give in) because she wants to sleep with me. If I do happen to get her to actually go to sleep in her own bed, she will wake up and join me in my bed, which has been taking years off my life, being awaken from a dead sleep by a small body climbing over my face. Not fun. So right now, it's 3:40 am, and I'm still awake working on this blog, and she has awaken, and refuses to go back to sleep, even though she is completely exhausted. She wants to sleep next to mom, and will not take "No" for an answer. I really thought it was suppose to get better as they got older. Maybe my son just spoiled me rotten by being a good sleeper, or maybe I did something right with him, that I've missed doing with her. Maybe she just spoiled me rotten by being a great sleeper until the dogs messed things up. I have no idea, but one thing I do know, I really want...no make that NEED for her to get back to her good sleeping schedule.