Battle of the bedtimes - The deadly itch

Ho ho ho. I've been struck by toddler bedtime wars again. Of course now that little dude has grown up a little, it's the baby's turn! We've put little dude and the baby into the same bedroom. So bedtimes are now twice as fun... for them (not us parents).

It's bedtime, but look at these guys

Do your children itch as much as mine during bedtime? They're normal during the day but when the lights go off at bedtime, suddenly, their whole body itches. Little dude used to 'itch' a lot when he was a toddler. Just as he needed to sleep, his head suddenly develops this urgent itch which we have to 'spatch' for him... then his back gets it... then his buttocks... hands... legs.... essentially every part of his body.

Now my fifteen-month-old daughter's got it too. But it's mostly confined to her EARS. She'll fidget around and around and around until we offer to put our pinkie into her ear and sort of massage it a bit. And we've got to do this for like... an hour or so. If we stop, she'll remind us by saying "er dor! er dor!" in mandarin, which means "ear! ear!". Sometimes even though we try to continue massaging the ear, she'll grow fidgety again. So I try my luck and give her a head massage, which works and keeps her lying down still for a while. But sometimes, nothing seems to make her comfortable and she had to let out several big howls and cries before finally falling asleep.

Yeah, and I mentioned that little dude was in the same room? After watching her sister get VIP treatment, he asked for some too. So I end up scratching him all over. Just like old times.

Battle of the bedtimes - Operation stealth mode

I have been more strict with the little dude since the last bedtime battle. I was as stern as a stern momma could be and for several nights, I got him to sleep in an orderly and peaceful manner. Ha.

But you know, we're all humans. So, little dude tries to find loopholes.

We have a bedtime routine. Nice bath, warm milk, bedtime stories and lullabies. Then, the lights go off, he has a goodnight kiss and he is allowed to roll around for a little bit before falling asleep. When he tries to crawl to me, tug at my hair and grin, I tell him sternly to lie back down.

Tonight, he seemed cooperative. I was pretending to be asleep, keeping on eye on him. He was lying sideways quietly. Then, inch by inch, he very slowly and carefully started to turn 180 degrees such that his head now faced the tail end of the mattress. Ever so quietly, using a commando crawl, he inched to the end of the mattress. He then turned another 180 degrees, and attempted to get off the mattress, butt down first....

"WX..." I growled.

Like a freestyle swimmer, he got back to my approved sleep position as fast as he could, then looked at me innocently.

I pretended to go back to sleep.

The 19-month-old started his gig again, but only got through half-way down the mattress before he was caught like a puppy and brought back to the top. He got reprimanded and punished before looking oh-so-guilty and tearful before finally falling asleep.

Boy, don't mess with your momma.

Battle of the bedtimes

8.30pm.

He smiles, he grins, he winks, he peeps. With no intention of falling asleep.

"WX, lie down!" I exclaimed, for the 143,567,725th time. My eyelids were getting heavier. I rubbed my eyes, blinked, and looked at the gleeful toddler in front of me. Maybe I should just pin him down like what they do in the WWF so that he can't fidget around and will finally fall asleep.

9.00pm.

His head was down on the mattress, buttocks up, and he was doing some sort of crawl. Left, right, left, right, his bottom waved in the air. I grabbed his thighs and pulled. He landed flat on his tummy. He tried to get back into position but I moved at lighting speed, grabbed him by his armpits and turned him over.  I shoved his bolster at him, but he pushed it away. He wanted MINE. Exasperated, I gave it to him. The little clown couldn't even put his arms around it. He looked like he was doing a ninja warrior log grip and started to roll around the bed.

I took a deep..... deep..... breath. And then I did the most natural thing.

I lay down beside him, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

1.45am.

I woke up groggy, and there he was fast asleep. He must have had quite a party while I was out cold. He was stretched flat out like a star fish. He didn't even stir when I put on a long-sleeved jacket for him.

I must make the husband do the next bedtime.