The (Small) Hazards of Traveling

Cate has been a night owl.

Yes, those of you who are familiar with Cate's sleeping habits probably just had to read that sentence twice to make sure you read it correctly the first time. Let me explain ...

We've been in the St. Louis area since Thursday afternoon. That's two nights in our hotel so far, and one more to go. Both nights Cate has pushed her bedtime later than she ever has. Thursday night it was 9:40 or so when she finally gave in. That's after a fun day at the (free!) St. Louis Zoo and limited napping. After dinner, she was snuggling with her blanket and sucking her thumb (sure signs that bedtime is near!) ... but she didn't want to go to sleep while I was in the room. So I left. When I came back, I didn't hear her, so I thought we were good. (I should mention that Greg was doing guy stuff with his brother and the other guys for the bachelor party ...) Nope. She heard me come back in the room and wanted to talk. I laid her back down in the portable crib that is about as long as Cate is. Then I went in the bathroom and sat on the (closed) toilet and worked on a Sudoku puzzle. But she knew I was in there. I tried ignoring her for a little while because she was just babbling.

It was almost 8 p.m., a little more than an hour after we started this whole process. So I let Cate snuggle with me and watch the first part "Grey's Anatomy," then I laid her down, turned out all the lights, lowered the TV volume and then finished the show while Cate finally gave in.

Last night when we got back from the rehearsal dinner at 10ish, Cate was still up, entertaining her great-grandparents. Apparently she had taken an hour nap at her bedtime, then obviously decided that was better than sleeping.

While trying to woo Cate to sleep Thursday night, I spent much time thinking ... I remembered I was thankful that I don't have to do that every night. I'm also thankful Cate likes to sleep in her own room in her own bed. Even though that kind of sleep training doesn't work well in a hotel room, it works well for the majority of our lives, and that's definitely more important.

UPDATE: Saturday night, after dancing herself into a sweat, Cate crashed. She pretty much went right to sleep and we didn't hear a beep from her until the next morning. Still, next time we're on a trip, a suite room with a door to close off the bedroom sounds like a good idea.