We're 2 days post vacation in Kauai now.
Oh man, the last week has been a crazy ride in toddler sleep hell.
The highs and lows of our trip (well, sleep-wise):
The flight delay of 8 hours causing us to arrive (barely!) in Kauai at 11 PM Hawaiian time (that's 2 AM PST). We didn't get to the rental house til almost midnight - by the time AJ went to sleep, it might have been around what would have been 4 AM PST. Not sure why (perhaps due to certifiable lack of sleep), we decided the first night would be a perfect night to try having him sleep (for the first time!) in a inflatable toddler mattress. Oh, and there's no A/C at this place. So you guessed it. Night one was an EPIC failure. I dragged him into bed with us and he slept a measly 7 hours. Oh well, at least he woke up happy.
Day two was when we discovered how hot (and humid) Kauai actually gets. Damn the lack of A/C! Day two was also the day we discovered that we didn't have ANY hot water. Ummmmm bath time?!?! I didn't think he'd do it but he eased into the bathtub full of cold water with me....and eventually liked it! At any rate, the cold bath cooled himself enough to allow for a reasonable sleeping temperature. He slept on his air mattress for an incredible 4 hours (with a giant pillow fort built around him) before he discovered his surroundings and climbed into my bed with me.
Day three was a hot one, but we were gone for most of the day and he enjoyed 2 cool 1.5 hour naps in the A/C'd car. 5 more hours on the air mattress, awesome!
Man on man....day 4... was SUPER hot. And nothing helped, not even the cold bath. Naps were horrible. Grandpa had to fan him to sleep. At night, he fought sleep in every way possible. Eventually he got too tired to fight it (around 10 pm Hawaiian time would be equivalent to being awake at 1 AM at home).
Day 5 was the big wedding day. I woke up and prepared for any other "work day" where I'd leave and tell him I was going to work (when instead I'd be heading off to bridesmaid duties). He woke up screaming at 6:30. It's not a toddler kind of scream. It's more of a 1 month old gas pain kind of scream. So we do the tried and true bicycle kicks, and after what felt like a half an hour of wondering if I'd make it to the wedding (while simultaneously pushing on little man's legs every 2 minutes as if he was in labor), the pain passes and he goes back to sleep. I'm free to go to the wedding! We stay out all the way to 9 PM and I come home to a sleep toddler and we cuddle. One more day where the air mattress works in our favor. We pour our stuff into the living room to pack.
Day 6. Airport day. This kid did awesome. Slept on the leg from Kauai to Oahu (30 minutes). Then slept again from Oahu to PDX (3 of 5.5 hours). Though I gloat a little too soon about my little sleeper. When we arrive home I forget that he's been sleeping with a binky for a full week now. The usual routine does nothing to calm him. Somehow, he's learned call for his "ba ba" Great. After almost 1.5 hours of Cry It Out, we give in, give him a binky and rock him to sleep. He falls asleep in seconds.
Post trip day 1. Nothing remarkable, just a day of rest at home today. I put him down to sleep though, at 9:30pm expecting a fight. No fight...and no binky needed.
Post trip day 2. HE WOKE UP AT 9 AM TODAY!!! This might be the longest he's ever slept by himself! But again, I gloat too soon....because I put him to bed at 9 PM today, and he cried for an hour an a half...and at 11 PM, we gave up completely and went in with a binky to rock him to sleep.
Roller coaster, when will you end?
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