Inherited Traits

In case you didn't know, Samantha inherited two lovely traits of mine- a small bladder and a much higher rate of sweating than what is normal.  It's nothing medical (we've been tested) it's just genetic.  How do these two relate?  Well allow me to enlighten you!

A few months ago I was at peace with thinking Samantha was going to be 7 or 8 until she was night trained.  Anyone who has spent time with her for longer than 20 minutes will agree that this child has the smallest bladder known to mankind.  She pees, every 15-30 minutes.  Mind you, this is not a medical condition.  It's because we're constantly pushing fluids to avoid a recent dehydration (read constipation) issue that I also dealt with as a child. So, pushing fluids + small bladder = frequent potty trips.

Anyway, getting back to the night training,  she was soaking through her pull-up at night and I casually mentioned to her that if she could keep her pull-up dry she could wear panties to bed.  
Low and behold the next 3 mornings she woke up dry- but made a bee-line for the bathroom first thing in the morning!

After a few nights of peeing in bed I realized I could just wake her up when I go to bed to have her pee.  Within a week or so she was getting herself up to pee and going back to bed on her own.  And *poof* she was night trained just after her 4th birthday.

Now on to her fatherly inherited trait.

After getting WAY to big to rock Samantha to sleep (ie hold her down so she'd stop moving and crash) and fighting her for an hour or so to stay in bed and put her books away, we just "budgeted" 15 minutes or so of reading to herself.  Why does it take me forever to sometimes see the obvious solution right in front of me? I've always talked about how similar Sam and Jeremy's sleeping habits are. Both take forever to settle down, both turn into ovens while asleep and both are up at the crack of dawn. Jeremy has to read for a while to fall asleep, even if he's been driving for 10 hours or worked a 12 hour day or spent all day outside working in the hot sun and is exhausted. I've never understood this. I mean, it takes me a while to fall asleep, but if I close my eyes and lay still, eventually I'm asleep.

But I digress...

Essencially the "read for 15 minutes" has turned bedtime from a 1-hour struggle trying everything from cuddling, coddling, holding her down, spankings etc etc to a kiss goodnight and she goes right to sleep. 

 I feel so bad for her in the end, being the oldest (and only) it takes forever for us to figure out the simple solution to some of the most obvious problem areas.  I'm really hoping I'll remember to step back and see the big picture with the next ones.  Why fight something that is so easily worked around?  I do this in my classroom all the time...

*sigh*