Screecher in the Night

When Karianna was 2, she went through a stage where she would scream for hours when we put her to bed. We figured very quickly that it was a power struggle for independence, and I credit Jared with an amazing technique that very quickly fixed the problem; very SuperNanny of him (did you know there was a Super-Manny show on last night? Weird.).

It seems that Karianna has relapsed into this stage the last few nights. As soon as we shut her door, she screeches her guts out. Unlike last time, she comes out of her room every other minute with every excuse in the book: I need to go potty; I miss Mommy; Is my underwear the right size? The moon is too bright; I miss Mommy; My tummy hurts; Mommy said good night to me but I forgot to say good night to her; I miss Mommy; There's a storm outside; It's almost morning time, I need to get up; I miss Mommy...catching the drift? Last night she started the routine at 4 AM. At first my heart was breaking, because she seemed honestly anxious and scared of being by herself. I didn't know how strict to get with her. Nearly two hours later, I was past heartbreak and in pure frustration mode. If there was any doubt that she was playing the control card again, it came a few moments ago when we heard her shouting out her newest excuse: "Mommy, I need to go to time out!" Talk about craving attention, even if it is negative attention!

So we keep moving forward with consistency, hoping that's the key to the exit door: consistently giving her plenty of love and attention during the day, consistently giving her a good relaxing bedtime routine, and consistently upholding bedtime rules, as much as it pulls at our heartstrings. Poor kiddo that I love so much!!!