Question for the parents out there… how
long is too long to let a kid sit happily in their bed as they
try to fall asleep?

I ask because Lex
is up to about an hour these days. He used to fall asleep
pretty quickly, but now he jumps in his bed, kicks the wall,
talks to himself, tells himself stories, and eventually starts
playing with his doggie (it plays a lullaby), then falls
asleep. It’s interesting to listen to, really. He’s generally
very good about staying in the bed and when he gets up it’s
almost always to play with the baby monitor, so I’m not too
worried about distractions in his room or anything. He just
takes a loooong time to settle down.

We
haven’t changed anything in terms of timing or routine. He
still gets books before naps and a bath and books before bed.
He naps around 1pm (sleeping usually from 2-4pm) and goes to
bed about 8pm (asleep around 9pm). I guess bedtime has been
pushed back a bit because of the later naps. We used to try and
have him in bed by 7 or 7:15, but lately it’s closer to 8:00,
but he’s also sleeping later in the morning (7:00-7:30) which
is super nice!

So anyway. Sometimes
after 1/2 hour or more I start thinking I should get him up,
but I know he’s tired. I’m putting him down when I do because
he’s tired, not just because of the clock. And I think that if
I get him up I’ll just be putting him back down again in a few
minutes. Is that better or just more confusing for him? He is
such a silly boy.