Sat here now I am listening to one baby crying in bed and post battle with my eldest to get her in to bed. Once the girls settled in to a routine (which took forever with the twins) we didn't experience them refusing to go to sleep at bed time. It never ceases to amaze me that when you think you've got something cracked it all suddenly goes pear shaped again. And we have tried EVERYTHING!! - Don't go in, do go in, settle them with a cuddle, let her cry it out, calpol, water, food before bed time, slow bedtime, quick bedtime, story, no story - it goes on and on.
My husband and I ask each other again and again - what shall we do? And three and a half years on from our first baby we still feel like we don't know what on earth we're doing half the time. Parenting seems to be one of those 'never stop learning' things. It is so easy to get arrogant - 'my child sleeps through the night', 'my child eats anything', 'my child always does what he is told'... the truth is that nobody has a perfect child and even if they're behaving perfectly right now, chances are next week it will have all gone out the window.
It feels as though half the time it is a competition to see who is more stubborn - the girls or me. And after tiring days and disturbed nights it feels easier sometimes to give in. I have so much admiration for parents who are on their own or whose partners work away. My husband is working late tonight and it is a lot harder to be stubborn alone even when I know that going to bed on time will serve my kids best for tomorrow.
I am glad that even when I feel alone I am not alone and that God gives me the perseverance to continue trying to parent my kids well! And I am glad that God is stubborn with me - that He stubbornly loves me and watches over me and trains me for His purposes. I am praying that all these experiences with my children will set me in good stead for what God has in store for me in the years to come. I hope I am always teachable.
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