Oh me, Oh my!

We've been experiencing a new phase 'round here..."Babes being boss". Karis & Kelsie have been far too demanding lately. They expect me to get them what they want when they want it, and their manners are lacking. They do not understand why they can't always have what they want. Well, it is now affecting our sleep.

2/7 - fed the girls an early dinner and wanted them to be full when I put them to bed, so I fed them oatmeal 30 min. before. Ian was off work, and a half hour after we laid them down, all heck broke loose. Our girls have never done this before, so it really took us by surprise. They screamed at the top of their lungs, so we kept going in to see what they needed & tried to help anyway we could. Every time we left, they screamed! Usually they're really good at communicating what they need/want. Y'all, it was so bad I thought maybe a scorpion had crawled in their jammies or somethin'. Checked for all the usual signs of illness. No fever, no diaper rash, no incoming teeth, no bugs in bed, no dirty or wet diapers, NO REASON TO BE CRYING! Since they'd never done this before, we figured that the oatmeal probably gave them an upset stomach. Kels cried/screamed until 2am before I decided to let Dada & Karis get some uninterrupted sleep. Took Kels on the couch with me and through her soft sobs, she was finally able to fall asleep. She looked like an angel in my arms. I put her back in her crib at 4am, went back to the couch to get some much needed sleep and that's when I hear Karis start up. Phew! Here we go again. I rushed in there to get her before she woke anyone up and she fell asleep on the couch with me. They always look so angelic & perfect when sleeping. I put her back to bed at 6 and they didn't get up til 10am. We were betting on this being a one time thing, but...

2/8 - ...nap time was no different. Major temper tantrum!! Cried for 30 min. When bedtime came along, it was a repeat performance. But Ian and I decided that this is an "I'm mad because I can't get my way!" attitude. Since we tried disciplining them with no affect, we decided that it was best to just leave them alone to work it out. Tonight Ian had to work, so with his authority behind me, I was determined not to tend to them til morning, even if they screamed all night. Kare stopped crying a half hour later, but Kels scream/cried from 7:15-10pm. Sounded like her leg was being cut off. She was so mad!! I turned the monitor down to the lowest setting and just let them cry/scream. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure!! I just kept reminding myself that sometimes the best thing I can do for my kids is nothing at all. 

2/9 - put them in bed, sang, prayed with them, kissed 'em, and told them I wouldn't see them til morning. They cried for 15 min. and are now silent. I know we're probably at the beginning of temper tantrum stage, but I'm hoping we nipped this one in the bud and this "crying at bedtime" phase will pass quickly. I will not let my kids rule the roost. They don't have to like it, but they need to learn to obey. As a parent, you never know how much you can endure until you're forced to go through it. This has been a good, hard lesson for us all to learn. Any cries hurt a Mama's heart. Your prayers are appreciated.