Sleep, what's that?

So a few weeks ago we decided to start trying harder to get Zola to sleep all night. I read some books, talked with a great friend whose daughter happened to be in the same position, made a plan. Persistence, Consistence, Patience.

After a couple of night it was working! Zola was sleeping up to 6 hours at a time. BLISS, I tell you, BLISS. We were getting more sleep which equaled more energy and we were being much nicer to each other during the day.

Alas...I guess all good things come to an end. I started noticing it was getting harder to get her down for her naps. Persistence, Consistence, Patience. But it just kept getting harder. I was fighting her for almost every single nap. Upwards of an hour or more each time. She just refused to sleep. So I regressed. After the back and forth of sit up, stand up, throw everything out of the crib, shhhh, it's time for sleep....I started napping with her. I mean, she had to get some sleep, right? And I was exhausted.

And then nighttime sleep took a turn towards wakeful. The plan wasn't working. She'd just play and ignore my very Persistent, Consistent, Patient plan. Until I left the room. And then she'd scream and throw her loveys on the floor and cry until I came back. Shhhh... it's sleep for time. it's sime for teep? oy.

And then she was suddenly back in our bed for part of the night. She's teething we say. She had some really bad gas this evening, maybe that's her problem. Her bones must be aching from all that growing... do you want to go get her and bring her in here? Yes. Okay.

Last night she was up for 2 hours. From 1-3am. Nothing was getting her back to sleep. Grant and I are borderline delirious from sleep deprivation this morning. I just got her down for a nap- by herself, in her crib- but only after an hour of crying off and on and finally being rocked to sleep.

I guess it's back to the plan. Persistence, Consistence, Patience. But when she will be consistently sleeping? That's what I'd really like to know.

But then she smiles in the morning and says "olley olley olley" in that funny voice and maybe give a little fake laugh and we crack up and pretend it wasn't that bad.