Which One Would You Choose?

Reagan's sleeping arrangements have been an ongoing issue for us since the day she was born. She has wanted to sleep with me since that very first night. And I don't just mean in the same bed... she wants to sleep on me, under me, around me, and against me. We'll go through spells of time where she sleeps on her own, and then she will suddenly revert back to that child who has to be with Mommy all hours of the night. She had been doing REALLY well at sleeping in her big girl bed for the past few months. That is, until the nasty croup came along. When she was sick the other week, we were forced to go back to sleeping together because she was having such a difficult time breathing at night and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. And now, I'm paying the price. It's like the kid thinks that her bed is made of monsters, snakes, bees and anything else that might cause fear to a near-three year old. She just flat out refuses to sleep in her bed unless I sleep there with her. I tried that for a few nights, but my back and neck can only take so much of sharing a twin bed! So once I moved back to my and Ryan's bed, Reagan assumed that she was making that move as well. After about five nights of Ryan and I both being kicked in the head by a very unruly sleeper named Reagan, we decided to lay down the law. Last night when I put her to bed, I explained to her that if she got up during the night, that I was NOT going to come into her room to help her go back to sleep. I then further explained that if she got out of her bed and came into our room that she would have to sleep on the floor because she was NOT sleeping in our bed again. She went to sleep. That was at 7:30. I think it was around 10:00 when the screaming started. After about 5 minutes had gone by, we heard her bedroom door open and then the sound of little feet running down the hallway. Sure enough, there she was at my side of the bed crying and trying to climb in. NO WAY KIDDO! NOT THIS TIME! I showed her the little mattress from her old toddler bed that I had placed on the floor and told her she had to choose: her bed, or the floor. She sat on the little mattress and cried her little head off until she finally gave up and fell asleep. She was still laying there curled up in a ball when I woke up at 7:00 this morning. Hopefully, we will only have to do this for a few nights before she realizes that her bed really is a much nicer place to sleep! And if not, at least Ryan and I both got a full night's sleep without little Miss Priss wriggling around between us!

Oh, and just so you know... the Easter Bunny may not be making an appearance at our house this year. And if he does, it might be a few weeks late. "Mean Mommy" that I am, I have told Reagan that the Easter Bunny will not come to see her this year unless she can sleep in her big girl bed like the big girl that she is. Hopefully we will have this problem resolved before Sunday, but something tells me that it may be Halloween before we dye eggs around here!

Any advice or tried and true tips that you have to help solve this problem would be MUCH appreciated y'all!