dynamic elf

I had trouble falling asleep as a kid, so I suppose it should be no surprise that my kid has trouble falling asleep, too. There's just so much THINKING to do, you know?

My mom's trick for getting me to fall asleep was to get me to recite all of the phone numbers I knew in my head, in numerical order. It was sufficiently engaging to keep me doing it, but dull enough to bore me to sleep. But now, I am faced with the task of inventing things for Natalie to do in her head that will help relax her and keep her from popping up every few minutes saying "I CAN'T SLEEEEP".

Sometimes numbers work on her, sometimes stories in her head, sometimes reading to herself with a flashlight, and sometimes nothing. But often, like her mama: numbers.

Two nights ago, I told her to count to 200 by 10s, and then 9s, and then 8s, and so on. She dutifully trudged back up the stairs, only to come down again a few minutes later, clearly frustrated: "Mommy, I CAN'T count to 200 by 9s. I can only count to 207."