Necessity is the mother of invention

I'd say desperation is the mother of invention. I am one sleep deprived, brain fried wreck of a person. When I grew out of that late night teenage angst stage, I turned into a morning person. I enjoyed waking up early, much to the disappointment of every college roommate. Until Ava. Ava has made me dread mornings. Maybe it's her wake up call at 2 am which goes from zero to full blast at the speed of sound. Maybe it's just my old age showing. I used to laugh at all the contraptions geared to help get a baby to sleep. Have you seen those freaky stuffed hands that you can warm up to place on a child to imitate your hand? Do you know how many books have been published to train your baby to sleep? This is no joke, people. It is for those desperate parents who just want a few hours of restful sleep. I really can't imagine how families do it that have two working parents or single parents raising a baby. I really shouldn't complain, I could have it worse. (I could have it better and hire an au pair to handle Ava though.) It's not really the work, it's the battle. It's the agony of defeat that I am powerless to my almost 2 year old.
In my effort to restart the game, I've decided to change the playing field. Last night I went on a crazed rampage up rearranging both girl's sleeping situations. I installed a guard rail on Sophia's upper bed and moved the lower bed to Ava's room, eliminating the crib. I think the crib became a thing of fear for Ava. She does not like to be restrained. Sophia handled the transition quite well. I think she felt a bit like Princess and the Pea sleeping up high. Ava was excited about her new bed, too. And she did better than expected. She woke up at 1am screaming, but I laid down with her and she settled down quickly. Up again at 3:45, this time with just a whimper and she came into our room on her own. I'd much rather be woken with a whimper. This time she knew I wouldn't get away so fast, so that was a little bit harder to sneak away. I begged my bones not to creak, as I held my breath and did a super ninja stealth back to my bed. She woke again at 5:45, and this time Rick brought her to bed with us. I feel like this was progress. But we shall see. Game on, Ava. Game on.