Presley's Favorites (And Sleep Talk)

Here's a list of some of Presley's favorites:

Favorite breakfast: a banana and a few Cheerios

Favorite words: uh-uh (for "no"), Melmo (Elmo), Mama, Dah-ee (Daddy)

Favorite toy: Mr. Potato Head

Favorite snack: shredded cheese

Favorite exercise: dancing

Favorite "lovey": her new stuffed Elmo

Now, about Elmo. We've been having the toughest time getting Presley to sleep through the night. She was great as an infant, but now she often wakes several times in the night and expects us to come comfort her. Being a tough mom, I refuse to pick her up, but that has lead to problems of its own. See, I have a hard time letting her cry for hours on end, so I've started sleeping on the floor in her room. It started with simply sitting with her a few minutes; then I took a pillow in; then a blanket. Now, there's a mattress on the floor in her room (I'm not kidding).

Finally, Scott and I decided this had to stop. The first night, we resolved to let her cry. (That was our whole brilliant plan.) But she cried for more than two hours, and it disrupted the entire house. She actually never really stopped crying; we just decided at around 5:30 AM that we'd call it morning. With her determination, we knew we were in for a battle.

This time, we were armed with a plan. First, I replaced her night light with a very weak one, hoping that the darker room would help her sleep better. Next, we ran our dehumidifier all night for "white noise." (This was more for Reagan's sake, to cover the inevitable crying.) But the key element of our plan was Elmo.

For months, I have been trying to get Presley to develop an attachment to a "lovey." Reagan has a cow she has loved and slept with nearly since birth. Cow is a part of our family. Whenever she is sad or lonely or tired, Reagan grabs her cow for comfort. Have I mentioned that Reagan is a great sleeper? We never set a bed time for her: she tells us when she's ready for bed--and it's almost always earlier than we would have asked her to go!

Here's where Elmo comes in. I've noticed that Presley has taken a recent interest in him while watching Sesame Street. This was confirmed on Monday when she tried to take a stuffed Elmo away from a little boy while we were waiting for Reagan at Kinderdance. So...ding! The lightbulb went on--Presley loves Elmo! Let's get a soft, cuddly Elmo for her to sleep with.

But this task was easier said than done. I went to three stores before I found him (most of the Elmos out there are the loud, active kind--not the warm, cuddly kind). I knew he was the one because Presley squealed with delight when she saw him. She carried him through the store and barely let go long enough for the cashier to scan him. Yes, he was overpriced. But he was worth every penny.

Last night, Presley slept until nearly 5 AM (this is quite good). Scott went in first, found her pacifier, laid her on her back, and made his escape. She cried. Ten minutes later I went in with the same routine, although I found Elmo and put him in her arms. She cried. Ten more minutes later, Scott went again. Again, the crying. The next appointed time to go in was fifteen minutes later (our master plan had a schedule!). But a funny thing happened--she had stopped crying by then!

Later this morning (7:30), I opened the door to check on her. She raised her little head, turned around and grabbed her friend and said, "Melmo!"

Ahhh...I'm thinking another night or two of this and we just might get to sleep until 6:30 or 7:00 every morning! At least we can pray that happens.