Bedtime is Achanging?

I give up on the nightly ritual. The past week has been out of control. Monday night, Ava refused to go to sleep. Tuesday night, Roger woke Ava up when he came home at 1am, and she didn't go back to sleep until 4 in the morning! Then was woken up at 8am by the stupid dogs. Wednesday night, she woke up at 3 and refused to go back to sleep until 6:30 in the morning. And each bedtime was pre-empted by something I'd like to refer to as the "Sleep War of 2011".

I am talking about hitting, flailing, kicking, screaming, sobbing and occasionally the physical wrestling match is interrupted by a maniacal laughing fit. Last night, after getting hardly any sleep this week and wrestling with a tired baby from 8 to 10, I broke. I gave up. I put her down on the floor in the living room, snapped at Roger, and then took a shower. I am done trying to "make" Ava go to sleep, especially when I know that she'll most likely just wake up at 3am to play (smack me around for awhile). And apparently Roger doesn't appreciate the deep frustration of battling with an 8 month old, day after day and hour after hour, so of course, I had to take it out on him. Imagine that. (I apologized later)

Anyways, I think it worked. She was up with Roger until 11 or so, they practiced walking the whole time and she actually stood on her own for almost 10 seconds! It was amazing! Then, when I got out of the shower to put her to sleep, she was out like a light. Ahhhh...I thought to myself, this is more like it! I went to sleep thinking that tonight was going to be different. Only to have my sleep interrupted an hour later by shrill screaming.

I went into her room and could see that her eyes were closed but she was screaming like I had never heard her scream before. I picked her up and she went crazy in my arms, screaming, smacking me, then choking, like she was gasping for air. I freaked out! I said her name a few times really loudly, then I started to cry. I had never seen her like this and it scared the heck out of me. She was screaming so loudly I thought maybe she was hurting. I checked her little hands and toes, her diaper for poo, I scanned her whole body to make sure nothing had happened, but I didn't see a thing. Then, just as suddenly as she had started crying, she stopped. Just went completely silent, eyes closed, sleeping like...well, like a baby.

It was terrible for me! I went to bed, but was so sad for her. I kept checking in on her throughout the night. Poor baby! As bizarre as it sounds, I think last night was the first time she has ever had an actual nightmare:(