Connor is getting to us…

Over the past couple of weeks the bedtime routine has been slowly changing.  Connor has always been a great sleeper and the only real trouble we’ve ever had was those couple weeks after his second surgery.  Since then he has been sleeping great!

We have been quite consistent with his bedtime routine which works well for us.  Lately, I have been noticing how he is well aware of what time it is.  “Go Diego Go” is his favorite TV show and he usually knows within 10 or 15 mins of the show beginning that it is coming on soon.  He’ll come to us and say “gooo Deigooo gooo”  We tell him, “Not yet, but in a few minutes.” and he waits patiently.

He also knows when it is getting close to his bath and bedtime.  Lately he has been playing with the tunnel set that Grandma bought him last year.  These are collapsible tunnels like this.

He plays in these after Go Diego Go is done.  Soon thereafter he realizes it is bedtime and then he actually starts collapsing them himself.  He can collaspe the small tunnels himself and then asks for help with the bigger ones.  Then after that, it is upstairs for his bath, diaper, pajamas, and teeth brushing.

Now to the title “Connor is getting to us…”  When we lay Connor down to change his diaper and put on his pajamas he knows what is coming and tries one last ditch effort to get downstairs.  Last week, it was signing to us he was thirsty or hungry (and of course we would take him downstairs for a small snack or something to drink).  After a couple of nights of not eating his snack, we wised up and would ignore his “request for something to drink or eat”.

So this week, Connor turned up the pressure on us.  He figured the “hungry/thirsty” routine had been overplayed, so now he goes straight for our hearts.  He says, “Downstairs.  Downstairs.  Downstairs.”  and then puts his hand on the side of his face as if he is sleeping on a pillow.  We think he is telling us he wants to go downstairs before he goes to bed.  We try not to buy into it and tell him, “No…it is bedtime.”  He tries a couple more times and then starts with the tears.  It was starting to break my heart the other night and tonight it just got to me.  So much so, that I turned to Victoria and said, “He is breaking my heart.”  She agreed with me.  It really is amazing to see how they can learn to tug at your emotions to get what they want.  Soon, he’ll be playing Mommy and Daddy against one another.

No, we did not and have not given in and after our kiss and our nightly routine of laying him in his crib he quickly falls asleep with very little fussing.

Connor — your Mommy and Daddy are trying to be strong but you sure are becoming a master of using those beautiful blue eyes (welled up with tears) to get to us.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy