Vacation and Schedules

We are one month away from our Thanksgiving vacation to Disney World. I am filled with excitement and a little bit of terror about how Emma will do. We are still struggling with the sleep thing though it has gotten better recently. Napping is still a problem. So much so that the school has even started to comment on how hard it is to get Emma to nap. They literally walked the halls with her on Friday until she was too tired to walk anymore and was ready for sleep. All that being said, Mike and I have discussed "the plan" for Disney and we are going to try letting her nap in her stroller and getting her home at a reasonable hour and put to bed. I rented a crib so that we won't have the pack and play battle. If plan A fails, plan B is to go in the morning for a few hours, leave and come back to the house so Emma can nap, then go back to the park and stay for as long as she holds up. I am guessing that we will be doing a little from plan A and a little from plan B resulting in Plan C. Still with me?

Now we have a full house of people going on this trip, Nana and Pop-pop, Uncle Bill and Aunt Jen and cousin Kara as well as Uncle Nick. And there is another family of four staying with us that I haven't met. So, I asked for the room upstairs as far away from the noise and excitement as possible. Hopefully this will help. I think there are a few people who think I'm completely insane to even expect Emma to stay on some semblance of a schedule. I am not crazy. I know that the schedule will be very loose and probably won't look anything like her regular schedule but I also know that my child doesn't do well when she is tired. I have no interest in suffering through some show or fireworks or what have you with a child that is overly tired and grouchy. That doesn't make for a fun vacation for mommy, daddy or baby Emma. So I'm going to try my best and know that that is good enough and really try to ignore the neysayers and have a great vacation. I'd love tips though from parents who have travelled to Disney with young toddlers!

Frustrated

We are in week 3 or 4 of Emma not sleeping. It's like having a newborn again. We have worked out how to get her to fall asleep initially and even managed to get her to sleep in her crib. BUT, a few hours later she wakes up, starts crying, gets so worked up when we won't pick her up that she throws up. So, we pick her up. Last night I went back to giving her a cup of milk to try to get her to go back to sleep like the old days. It worked until I put her in her crib. Still, I convinced her to lay down as long as I was laying beside her crib. She even turned her head away from me! So, I got up and took two steps to the door. Her head whipped around so fast that I am sure she has whip lash. Giving up, I put her in bed with us. Again.

This may make me a bad mother but I do not like having a toddler sleeping in my bed. She takes up most of the bed, sleeps snuggled up next to me making me hot and nervous to move. She doesn't like to be covered up so therefore I cannot be covered up. I am becoming deeply resentful. I hate to even admit it but a lack of sleep, frustration and being sick have left me with no patience or tolerance for these nightly tantrums.

We have tried cry it out to no success. Admittedly we gave up after 3 days but she just seems to cry off and on for hours until she throws up. No one is getting sleep. So then I tried Dr. Sears method of a family bed but that is just not happening. I'm at my wits end. Something has to give soon.