I am oozing with gratitude for all the amazing sleep advice this week. Even if I am now entirely confused.

Reading the comments is like a parenting style smackdown.

In this corner, we’ve got Tough love! Lock her in the room til morning the little rat bastard! in the black shorts. And in the opposite corner, the challenger: Aw, they’re just so widdle and cuddwy and cute at that age – how about she takes the bed and you sleep on the floor? wearing the gray yoga pants and the Ergo carrier.

I was sort of hoping for that one commenter who says But wait! All you have to do is blink three times and say moogooloogoobooloo and your problems are solved, geez, didn’t you see that in the parenting manual?

Darn.

I am honestly going to try a lot of these suggestions because I have a sense we’ll tear through them in no time. Last night we started with the sleeping bag on the floor next to our bed idea, and it was immediately met with a big fat whiny NOOOOOOOOO but I like YOUR BED.

Reward stickers also – not so happening.

Basically, she’d like both to sleep in our bed and to have the stickers as well.

Moving on.

I have to admit though, my gratitude for all the ideas is mixed with an uncomfortable feeling of defensiveness. And I don’t like it. It has nothing to do with how any of the comments were presented – you have all been nothing but gracious and open about your own skeletons in the closet (or sleepless nights in the family bed). But there’s something in me, my tagline not withstanding, that bristles sometimes at not being the perfect mom with the perfect kid.

I am definitely a type A person who’s become a type B mother (as Gray Matter Matters so wonderfully put it once) and that can be a challenge. It’s like I act all type B, letting my kid sleep wherever and not worrying about it, until suddenly I realize the type A person within is melting down at the lack of order and my inability to control things when I want to.

I want to control things! Do you hear me universe? I WANT THAT POWER!

Motherhood sure puts an end to that pipe dream, doesn’t it.

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A few happy happy things this week besides the fact that I’ve discovered the boggle game on Facebook: A healthy little baby guy for Catherine and a positive quad screen for Kristen. Feel free to add your good wishes to the ever-growing list. One can never have too many for these sorts of things.