Let me sleep on it

Last night was the big night. The bunkbed arrived yesterday. I had all sorts of promises from Jessica that she would sleep in the top bunk with me sleeping in the bottom bunk. She seemed excited enough about it. We got home from YMCA camp and errands at about 5:30 and she spent the next couple of hours sitting in the top bunk.

Then it was bed time. As soon as her pajamas were on, she turned into a different kid. "I want to sleep next to you, Mommy." And the tears! Plus Xander was crying because his bedtime was being affected. I tried to rationalize with her. I reminded her of all the promises she made to sleep in the top bunk. I threatened her: we have a 3 day window to return the bed if not satisfied and I threatened to do just that.

Finally, after at least half an hour of negotiations and tears, I made a deal with her: she would lay down in the top bunk while I got Brother to sleep in the bottom bunk. It worked out like I had hoped: by the time Xander fell asleep, Jessica was also asleep.

I had to make 2 trips to the top bunk in the night. Once, I was able to get her back to sleep while standing on the ladder. The second time, I actually had to climb into the bed with her, where I fell asleep for a while.

This morning I asked if I should send the bed back. "No!"

Let's hope it goes better tonight.