A big Mommy mistake.

Last night I made a pretty bad Mommy mistake. I decided to try changing Ian's bedtime routine. What a bad idea. Before bed Ian usually drinks a 9 oz bottle of milk while cuddling with us and watching Treehouse TV. Do you have any idea how much pee that can produce through the night? Much more than a size 4 diaper can hold. It was becoming a routine in the morning to have to change him out of his wet pj's and occassionally change his sheets as well. We now have him in size 5 diapers for the night, but we also thought it might be good to phase out the bottle as well. So last night, after a day that was so far from Ian's normal routine (different bed, different church, nap in the car etc, can you see where this is going?), I decide to try a new bedtime routine. Really, what was I thinking? I thought substituting a bottle with a sippy cup with less milk and earlier, and a story in his own bed would be pretty simple. When it came time to say night-night he lost it. Total and complete toddler melt-down. Screaming, tears, heartbreak. It was so tragic. And I immediately saw my folly and repented. He got more milk, he got a cuddle in Mommy's bed, with Treehouse TV. He also went to bed an hour later than usual. It did not end there. Oh no, for such a big Mommy boo-boo, the punishment is much more severe. An hour after going down he came right back up again, in pain, screaming. We knew that his teething was bothering him (oh it just gets worse doesn't it), and had given him Tylenol before bed the first time. But now he had gas cramps (I think it was the pepperoni pizza he had for dinner), and there was writhing, and moaning, and soooo much farting. But after all the farting was done he finally collapsed back into sleep. Amazingly he stayed asleep all night but woke up early again at 7. Thankfully, after a mellow day here at home, and a 3+ hour nap he seems to be back on track. Bedtime was as smooth as usual, but with only half a bottle of milk now.
I have learned that I must take Ian's routine a little more seriously, no matter how flexible he can be. All day Sunday he was so good, I forgot that the entire day was so different from his normal schedule. I didn't even stop to think that changing up bedtime just might put him over the edge. Everyone has their breaking points. I am so sad, and ashamed to discover that I found Ian's. Live and learn. I hope this just makes me a little bit better at Mommying, and perhaps Jayden will benefit by having a much wiser Mommy when he gets to that age.