Part of me knew that as soon as I publicly wrote about how M was totally down with her new sleeping arrangements, that I was biting myself in the ass.  (Ah, now there's a special image.)

Note to self:  Never brag in the blogosphere.  Ever.

So, over the last few nights, M has learned a valuable lesson:  After bedtime, she holds the power.    Last night, at 3:00 am, I was jolted awake by her plaintive wails.  "Mamaaaaa Ni-night.... Mamaaaa Ni-night.... (Mama, I can't fall back asleep without you, so please come help me.)"  So, with a squirming Little Homie under my arm, I stumbled into her room.

"Shhh... Lie down Big Girl.  Time for sleep."

"Mama! Ni-night.  Boob.  Boob Mamaaaaa.  Boob."  (Yes, she's still nursing.  If anyone out there is from the Discovery Channel and wants to pay me a lot of money to set up cameras, I'm totally down.)

For the next hour, I wrangled an exhausted 2 year old, and a wide-awake and gassy infant.  The problem is, M's bed has a weight limit on it, and believe-you-me, I'll break the frame, so I couldn't snuggle up next to her to help her fall asleep.  So, while M whined for more boobs, Little Homie blew rasberries, sucked his toes, and giggled each time he farted, and nobody slept. 

By 4:30, I was in tears and ready to end it.

"Do you want to go to bed with Mama and Aba?"  I asked.

"No no no!"  she said, her curls bouncing as she shook her head.  "Ni-night!"  She pointed to the bed.

So we tried again.  After 15 minutes of sheer futility, I picked her up, carried her out of her room (stepping carefully over a mass-grave of stuffed animals), trundled down the dark hall, and staggered into our bedroom.

"No no no, mama.  Ni-night.  Big Girl."  She cried, pointing toward her room.

  I'll give her one thing.  She is smart.  She actually had me begging her to come back to bed with us, and instead of taking her back to her Big Girl bed like she asked, I tucked her in between her Aba and me.  Still, I know it wasn't my imagination when she smiled at me as if to say "that's right, mama.  I own you!" And, then, after snuggling under the warm blanket, within 30 seconds, she was fast asleep, a satisfied smile on her face