Then she reached 11 months and everything went topsy turvy. She discovered the infinite joys of being awake and started fighting sleep. I went on a "+Google+ mommy" search and came across several useful articles that discussed strong-willed toddlers and tips for putting them to sleep. One such tip: let them "choose" to fall asleep by turning off all of the lights and getting rid of all distractions, making the environment so boring that they have no choice but to "choose" to fall asleep. This method worked from about 11 months til 13 months, which meant 2 more months of peaceful sleep. It was too good to last and soon her personality traits began to show their stubborn head meaning that Hannah no longer "chooses" sleep, preferring a boring dark environment with us over getting some much needed shut-eye. I lay her down and she starts her nighttime nursing and even becomes all relaxed and groggy... deceptively fooling me into thinking she´s drifting off to sleep... but NO! exactly 4-10 minutes into it she bounces back up and proceeds to literally crawl and climb all over me... think +National Geographic documentaries about lions where you see their cubs crawling all over them... and then starts standing up on the bed and showing mama and dada how she can stand-up while doing flamenco hands and yelling excitingly "TAAAAA!". No more easy sleep for us!
Another "google mommy" search led me to the more common approach to sleep discipline: put her down calmly without being expressive or giving her any extra attention as often as necessary until she falls asleep. Yesterday I decide to attempt this method, even though my husband was against it and I too am fundamentally opposed to parenting methods that involve breaking the child´s will and forcing her into submission. But I didn´t have a lot of success with the more positive approaches and Hannah needs to sleep. Let me go on the record that this type of parenting was a whole lot more stressful and grief inducing for all of us. She cried bloody murder every single time I proceeded to lay her back down and I did my very best to remain calm while my heart ached. The worst part was that it went on for 30-40 attempts until she was so overcome by sheer exhaustion that she eventually stopped crying, but without crying she kept struggling to sit back up even in the groggy state she was in as though to prove a point that she would not be broken. I admired her resolve so much that I started feeling guilty over trying to "break" it. We had a very busy day yesterday and a shortened nap due to the power struggle, so thankfully by the time bedtime came she was exhausted and went down like a log. I didn´t care for the "keep putting her down" approach so I am determined to provide her with enough play and activity during the day so that she once again "chooses" sleep.
First step: sign her up for +Gymboree Play&Music. I had already discussed with my BF my desire to enroll her in a daytime activity that would allow her to interact with other babies her age because being our first-born and seeing as how we are really not sure we´ll have another, she is constantly surrounded by adults. Whenever she is with other kids, even when they aren´t her age, she gets so excited that I know she will benefit from interaction with other children. Not only will the play time help with her social skills, but the extra exercise will hopefully wear down her energy so she more willingly goes to sleep. I was familiar with Gymboree from living in the US, so I was very glad to discover a franchise in Guate and the best part is that it is about a 10 minute drive from my house. Score! I went to a free class on Saturday and Hannah had so much fun that I decided to enroll her in monthly classes. She is now a Gymboree Toddler. Yesterday morning was our first official class. I am a very reserved person so I was a bit concerned over meeting the other mothers because I don´t have any friends with kids and am very rarely among other mothers my age. I also have a fear of Alpha moms seeing as how I have had encounters with Alpha women and not taken easily or kindly to them. I know it´s because deep down there is an Alpha in me, but all of the personal and spiritual growth I have been blessed with has allowed me to subdue the dominant traits of my personality: competitive high achiever, aggressive and bold, impatient, strong need for independence, protective/possessive, etc.
Don´t get me wrong, I realize these are also the same traits that have allowed me successes but they had the exact opposite effect on my personal life which is why I ultimately rebelled against that aspect of my personality. It took a whole lot of meditation and introspection to learn how to better control my impulses, reactions, and emotions so I could pacify them when necessary. That is why I avoid other Alpha females as much as possible because it´s harder to control those traits in the presence of another dominant personality. Usually I will go to any length to avoid interacting with said females, lest I loose my Zen, but Hannah´s well-being trumps my introverted / anti-social tendencies. The class started and I made an effort to engage with all of the other mothers and realized, to my relief, that there were no Alpha moms in the group. But alas, that would have been too easy, and I know God always finds ways to challenge me. About 10 minutes into the class arrived the dreaded Alpha Mom of the group: loud, entitled, overtly confident and territorial. She interrupted the class with her enthusiastic greeting of the other moms, passing right by me without so much as a second glance. During play-station time, she proceeded to march her daughter speedily and domineeringly through every station, regardless of whether it was in use by another toddler.
Eventually she plowed her way through the station Hannah was using, I took deep breaths and managed to settle the urge to mark territory myself. With my emotions in check, I greeted her and asked her daughter´s name to which she curtly and briefly replied before moving on to the next station. I patted myself on the back for keeping my cool and proceeded to keep enjoying my time with Hannah. However, the peace did not last long as once again her daughter made her way onto a station currently being used by Hannah. This time Hannah had a toy in her hand that Alpha Mom´s daughter wanted. I saw the beginnings of a tantrum in her daughter and, seeing as how Hannah had another toy in her other hand, I urged Hannah to give the toy to the little girl. The Alpha Mom scolded her daughter and warned her not to throw a tantrum and after the toy exchange, ordered her to thank Hannah and quickly moved the girl along the station. Yes! I had survived another icy and brusque interaction with Alpha Mom and Alpha Toddler. The rest of the class went by without another encounter and I was very proud of myself for a) braving my fear and having fun with Hannah despite of it, b) socializing with other mothers my age, c) not reacting in a defensive or offensive manner to Alpha Mom, and d) not letting the encounters ruin the experience or making me rethink the class.
Life lesson: There is a reason behind every person you will encounter. The true challenge is in discovering why they have come into your life, learning to value the things you have in common, and accepting the differences and acknowledging when they are mirroring traits you have to overcome.
"In life you will realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you, and some will teach you. But most important are the ones that bring out the best in you. Those are the ones worth keeping around."
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![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://bachifly.blogspot.com/2013/09/time-for-play-and-time-for-mimi.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vGaM47yXvusQywJwOvMDPjS_iCZopW1FbvIBUCe3xm_VtXdtOuebf5kFlwySZdXQG2YlMnjYiId96r9y5J-wlqtUDcMYRK7f20hk-2ZEmtItA_YwUT9PaddZI3AfKUiWPPNjL6ubY97Q/s72-c/IMG_4513.JPG&description=Sleep troubles come in all shapes, colors, styles, and sizes when it comes to babies. In my case the trouble began with the "terrible t...){kind=link}
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