The sleep situation at our house had gotten rather grim as of a couple weeks ago. Before the monster that are the two year molars hit our house
After a particularly bad night, I went online and purchased The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers. There were a few key things the book taught me. One, sleep problems don't change overnight. It said it will take about a month to really see consistent results. Two, consistency is key. So we jumped in with both feet.
We implemented a few things. First, we now have a nighttime routine that starts at 7pm with Isla ending up in bed around 8. This does make it difficult to be social in the evenings, but I will take a peaceful night's sleep over keeping the kids out late all the time. The second thing we started doing is having Ian go in at night to her until 3am (i.e. no breastfeeding until after 3am). I personally think this was the big one. After a couple nights Isla was down to only waking 2-3 times a night. And trust me when I say that was already a HUGE IMPROVEMENT. And guess what? After doing this for three weeks, Isla SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night!!! Like a whole 12 hours!!! This was amazing. Now I realize that we are still in the beginning and she may wake up tonight, but still. I see light at the end of the tunnel and that is a beautiful thing.
All this drama with Isla and sleep has me wondering how other people's kids are with sleep. So, if you have a little one, I would love to hear how you guys do things at your house. Do you have a routine that you stick with? If not, how do things work at your house?
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We have pretty much always had routines. We did "Babywise" (tweaking it here and there) and it really worked for both my kids. But now, I'm lucky if I get uninterrupted sleep one night a week. They share a room (which they've done since Evan was 6mo. and Ryder was almost 3), and to my surprise, that's not the culprit. They rarely wake each other up. But if it's not teething, it's leg cramps (Ryder gets them when he's over tired). If it's not that, it's nightmares, or potty-related waking. Once Ryder learned to "hold it" all night, we had a little reprieve, but now that Evan's in the midst of it, I'm up changing sheets, etc. I'd imagine that once he finally gets the hang of it (or gets a big enough bladder!) sleep will get better... at least that's what I keep telling myself!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I should add that they are both early risers. 9 times out of 10, they are awake by 6:15 every morning, regardless of how late they went to bed or how many times they woke up. When the clock says 7:30, I begin running "what if" scenarios through my head and debating whether or not I should check if they're still breathing. I can count on less than one hand the number of times they've slept past 8am. There was even a time in Ryder's life (way before Evan) that he was consistently up between 4:30 and 5am. UGH!
ReplyDeleteNot going to lie... I just cried a little. So Happy you got a full nights rest!! Praying this is what this little one needed and it continues!! There is light... good job mom and dad!!!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you!! And good job on your BF!!
ReplyDeleteWe have always had a routine. If the day just passes us by and Levi has to go to bed later than normal, we still follow the same routine. We start prepping 30 minutes BEFORE we plan to have him in bed. So we normally start at 7pm with the goal of having him in bed with lights out by 7:30/7:45. We dim the lights, quiet everything down, do teeth brushing, hand washing, and bathing if it is bath night. We read 3 books in bed and sing 3 songs. This has been our routine for ever! I can't even remember when it started. We also leave a fan on in his room for some background noise.
Good luck on your new sleep schedule!! Having one child is hard enough, I cannot imagine what putting two to sleep is like!!!