Pro-Sleep



Dear People that like sleep,

We were having some major sleep issues in our house with our two year old.  Two and three hours into nap-time without having a nap... bedtime stalling and craziness like none other... playing, getting out of bed, spankings... the whole works.  It was all kinds of frustrating and super exhausting.

But now?  Now bedtime is seriously one of the least stressful times of our day.  It is insanely peaceful and lovely.  And she falls asleep beautifully. 

So what changed?  Well... not much, to be honest.  A friend of mine recommended a book to us called "The Sleep Easy Solution" when we were lamenting Piper's newborn sleep habits.  I bought it, but then she started sleeping through the night and I never even read it.  But out of frustration I picked it up again about a week ago, and I am so thankful that I did. 

I just browsed a few chapters, but it reminded me that we needed a routine.  We were so so very good at this before Piper was born, but it gradually got shorter and shorter post Piper and suddenly we had no routine at all.  It was just like, "Ok Em, it's bedtime.  Say goodnight, we're going to brush your teeth."  The end.  (Ok it wasn't that dramatic... but you get my point.)

So now we do exactly the same thing every. single. night.  It is almost painfully the same.  We nearly have the same conversations.  But there is no more calling mom back into her room 8,000 times.  There is no "one more drink" or "just need this" or "one more song" or "lay by me."  Those things never worked anyway... they just made us both frustrated. 

Instead when I introduced the new routine I told her exactly what was going to happen next through the whole thing.  "Mom is going to lay by you in your bed and read you two books.  When I finish this next book, I am going to pray with you and then I am going to turn your lamp off.  Now I will sing you one song and then I am going to walk to your door.  When I'm at the door I am going to blow you a kiss and say goodnight.  Then I am going to close the door and leave.  When you are trying to fall asleep you may lay down and you may sing songs." 

People.  It is insanely revolutionary.

I wish you could watch it happen.  It makes me so very happy.

Now... to work on Piper.  She's next.  Because we need to purge two things:

1) the swaddle
2) the pacifier replacement in the middle of the night

The only thing I hate about swaddling is needing to get rid of it.  It is not fun at all.  But it is time.  And that darn pacifier.  I have a love/hate relationship with it.  It is so easy to just plunk it back in her mouth in the middle of the night instead of other sorts of soothing (namely, the boob)... but I am just absolutely not going to go in there and give it to her 5 times a night.  Nope.  Not gonna doing it. 

OK - moral of this post:

If you have children with sleep issues... read this book.  (Or if you are having children in the future... read this now.)  It isn't about making them cry it out.  But it also isn't about coddling them until they are 15.  It is practical and wonderful and sleep is awesome.

The end. 


Oh and if you are curious... here is our crazy bedtime routine:

7:00pm - Emberly sit on potty chair then get in bath (wash hair)
7:05pm - Feed Piper solid food while Emberly plays in bath... then Piper gets in bath (wash hair), girls play
7:30pm - Piper out of bath and dressed
7:35pm - Emberly out of bath, sit on potty chair, and dressed
7:40pm - Emberly bedtime snack
7:50pm - Brush teeth, Emberly in bed reading books alone, Feed piper and tuck in bed
8:00pm - Read two books with Emberly, pray, sing song, and say goodnight