Anyone who thinks that people with Down syndrome are eternally happy should come spend some time with us from 6:45-7:15 on any given night.
Good. Lord.
The phrase “scream like a banshee” has taken on a whole new meaning since our sweet little booger has decided that bedtime simply isn’t her thing. With every wail, I can hear her cursing us for leaving her in the dark. The best part is that her timing is unsettlingly perfect – just as you breathe that sigh of relief because finally, she’s calm and reach to take a sip of your wine, BAM. Just kidding! If she had words, I can guarantee she’d be yelling the ones you wouldn’t say in front of Granny.
I can’t say that I blame her for being upset. When you live as thrilling a life as we do, it must be devastating to miss out on the fun. Between the crossword puzzles and episodes of House Hunters that have been on the DVR for about 2 years, I sure wouldn’t want to sleep through any of the awesomeness.
We’re just bustin’ down stereotypes, one bedtime routine at a time.
Yo soy La Lay 
Such a funny post!
When my first one would do that, I would always think, “please. Someone come feed me, give me a bath and tell me to go to sleep. Please. I’d love it.”
Haha, so true Jamie. They don’t know how good they have it! 😉
I love the pouty face!
Haha, yes, that’s the face I get every time I laugh, Katie! Breaks my heart. 😉
Oh man I love that photo. That girl has attitude!
Oh that , lip…how can you stand such cuteness from both your girls???
They get away with WAY too much. 🙂
Ok.. that picture.. seriously the cutest sad face ever! So.. I’m curious how you handle Tessa’s crying/screaming? Do you go in there and try to calm her or do you let her cry it out?? Also.. I’m assuming you put her down to sleep slightly awake??? I’m looking for inspiration.. because we are failing at this whole bedtime stuff. With my older kids I did the “cry it out” method and it worked like a charm. But for some reason I can’t bring myself to do it with Willow. I don’t know if I’m being a softy because she’s my last baby.. or what! I still nurse her to sleep.. and if she wakes up.. my overly exhausted butt is quick to go nurse her back down. I need to stop though. Inspire me… Go! 😉
Well… I think the biggest ‘key’ to an easy bedtime is finding the right bedtime first. That’s the hardest part!! If you are too late, tears are inevitable… same with too early. Unfortunately with my girls, the best time to put them to bed is when they are incredibly happy and calm. It makes it a little rough on my end because they are so sweet, but it’s better for them. With Ellie, we never had to cry it out because she has always gone down so nicely (well, there was a brief week or so when we took her pacifier…). Tessa is new territory. When we miss her sweet spot for bedtime (about 7:00/7:15), we do let her cry it out. If she doesn’t go down after 30 minutes or so, we calm her, sometime give a bottle, and try again. If she starts to sleep on the bottle, we take it away and put her to bed when she’s drowsy. When she cries, I usually have to lock myself in the bathroom, turn on some loud music, and turn off the monitor because I, like you, have this goofy soft spot for her tears!! The only time it ever really ends up an issue is when her crying gets Ellie going. Two screaming kids is the absolute worst because the instant one starts up again, so does the other. That was my story last night.