Who knew a high chair could be so versatile?

Sleeping has never been something easy for my kids. There have been very short phases when it hasn't been a struggle, but those times are short-lived and not the rule. Most advice is to "show them you are in charge and let them just scream it out. They'll eventually give up and go to sleep." Well, after allowing them to scream for 2-3 hours, I normally decide that they are not going to give up. It's not that they aren't tired, normally it is when they are very tired and, therefore, very wound up and have been denied some little thing they want.

So, the month of January gave me a short reprieve from the constant sleep battle. Andrew has continued to be rather easy, but I made all the bottles disappear starting in Feb and Rachael still has not forgiven the betrayal. She enjoys the nightly routine of stories, songs, prayers, and brush teeth. But when it comes time to lay down, she starts screaming. Because Andrew and Rachael share a room, this makes it difficult for Andrew to fall asleep. This has presented quite the dilemma as I know that she won't just give up. So, where do I put her?

A few months before Christmas Rachael decided she was too old to sit in her high chair. She now eats her meals standing up on a normal chair. The high-chair then became an effective time-out chair. Well, when Rachael started throwing a fit at night, I decided to put her in time-out in the high chair. I work on the computer at night, so I put her in the living room facing the front door with the light off. The chair was reclined and I thought she would hate it - hoping she would decide that her bed was better than the high chair. Ha! how wrong I was!

Long story short, the high chair is now her preferred place for falling asleep. I move the high-chair for nap-time into her room and for bed-time into my room. Sometimes she wants to roll over and is willing to be moved to her bed. Often, she sits there and plays with her fingers until she's ready to sleep.

She seems satisfied in the knowledge that, yet again, she has foiled my attempts at coercion. I console myself by saying at least I have stood firm by insisting that it be quiet time and by not putting her down in my bed (I learned that lesson with Andrew).