Children go through phases. We all know this. Behaviors and preferances come and go. The one that astounds me every time is the sleepless phase. Why do toddlers who usually get up at 7:30 all of a sudden start getting up at 6:00? And at the same time, only take one hour naps instead of the usual 2 hours. If they woke up happy, I would understand a bit more. Unfortunately they wake up so very sad, and stay that way for days, until their little bodies get back on track.
We are in the middle of such a phase right now. My dear little two year old loses his mind when he doesn't get enough sleep. We've hit an all new level this week. He cried for 5 minutes at breakfast, because his dry Kix wouldn't stay in a pile on the side of his bowl. Later, he cried for 10 minutes, because he wanted a diaper change. He doesn't wear a diaper. There were no tantrums, just sad, pitiful crying, repeating his request over and over. There was no reasoning with him, even though I actually showed him that he had underwear on. Nothing could go right for him all day.
I can easily see what is wrong with him. If he would only sleep, all would be well again. But as with horses with water, you can take them to their beds, but you can't make them sleep. All I can do is take pictures during these meltdowns in order to make fun of him at his high school graduation and make sure that I am getting enough sleep. It would be really bad if both of us lost our minds at the same time.
