One thing that works with Chandler is that he has a cool mist humidifier in his room - year round.
We have 4 month old twins and Chandler will sleep through ANYTHING! We had friends over last week with 3 girls and they stayed until 10PM...(their energy wore me out)...but Chandler got a bonus 30 minutes and went to bed at 8:30 PM. Any later than that and he's a crank pot the next day.
He goes to bed between 8 - 8:30 and as long as his humidifier is on - it blocks out the noises from the rest of the house enough for him to sleep. He also knows that he has to stay in bed until we come get him.
I know we'll have to do some safety training in case of an emergency but right now - it is wonderful to know he'll play quietly in his room until it's time to get up...about 6:45 - 7:00.
3-09-09
Kellen 6 lbs 4 oz, 19.5" long
Allie 4 lbs 13 oz, 19" long
DR.MOM
Posts: 823
6/24/09 11:45 P
I'm not sure what all you've tried, but these are some things that have worked for me.
1 - earlier bedtime is usually better - especially if she's cranky. if you know that 7:00 bedtime produces and good night sleep for all don't budge on it. the first week or so may be a struggle, but dim the lights and make her stay in her room. Same goes for nap time. For naps, if Biscuit doesn't go to sleep, i don't make a big deal about it, but he must stay QUIETLY in his room.
2 - keep the get up time about the same everyday. she may wake up at 5:30, but if get up time is 7, then nothing happens before then. I allowed "Bisuit" to come into our bed if he woke up too early, but i told him that it was not time to wake up and he usually dozed off in our bed, then eventually stayed asleep in his own bed.
3 - i turn off tv's and only allow quiet activities about 1 hour before nap and bedime. he can play quietly with his toys, color, we will read but nothing too stimulating. i also give him warnings when bed/nap time is coming. (I sometimes use a timer) "When the timer goes off it's time to clean up and go night-night"
4 - i keep a leak proof sippy cup with cool water and a few graham crackers next to his bed. this stopped the "I'm hungry and thirsty" battle.
some days are a complete disaster but i stick to my basic rules and he knows what i expect. i do know that around this age they may start dropping naps altogether, but I'm of the mind that we all (adults included) need a block of quiet time built into each day.
GOOD LUCK and keep up updated.
DS born 01*19*06 @ 6:22am weighing 7 pounds 6 ounces.
DS born 06*10*08 @1:43am weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces.
DD born 09*12*10 @ 3:23 weighing 6 pounds 5 ounces
CFRANCZAK
Posts: 1684
6/23/09 3:27 P
ACANCREDI
Posts: 436
6/23/09 11:46 A
Please don't think that I was put off by your post! I think it's great that you've been able to implement all that you have. Apparently my lack of hearing about these things from other moms as you have, is a part of why I haven't been able to fix things! Other mothers are the most useful resources we have.
I hope that everything continues to work well for you and that the work you put into it continues to deliver the results you are striving for. As for me finding what works...I'm beginning to think that time is what will work!!
A HypnoBirthing mom and practitioner,
"Taking the birthing world by calm"!
ACANCREDI
Posts: 436
6/16/09 11:01 P
CFRANCZAK- Congratulations on being granted the most amazing children ever! I'm not being sarcastic. You are the only mother I have ever communicated with who has children as young as yours who follow rules as yours do. You are quite fortunate!
Thank you all for your responses and ideas. We do have blackout shades, we don't have neighbors to wake her, she's not potty trained at night...and I am still at a total loss. She has been coming to my bedside and asking me, "Mommy, did I get a good sleep?" When I look and see that it's too early I walk her back to her bed and she has been going back to sleep (as long as one of the older girls don't wake up during that process!).
I couldn't even begin to get her to bed earlier than 7...there's too much activity with the other kids at an earlier time. But what heavenly images that thought does incur!
Apparently this is another one of those things...like potty training...that we just can't force. Through time and repetition she should get the idea.
Age 5 was a major turning point for my oldest, here's hoping the next 1 year and 8 months proves to be a constant improvement for this little girl too!!!
A HypnoBirthing mom and practitioner,
"Taking the birthing world by calm"!
CFRANCZAK
Posts: 1684
6/11/09 1:37 A
Wait... I am supposed to wean him off? LOL. I just change it up, so now if he plays quietly he can either watch a half hour of treehouse, have a carrot muffin, or get a toy from the basement. I keep recycling all the toys so that they forget about them and think they are new. I have six tupper ware bins in the basement and they both love getting something out. One a month I round up all the toys that have come upstairs and put them back downstairs. Works pretty good.
3KIDS4KIM
Posts: 2742
6/10/09 11:42 P
Ellora sounds a lot like Katie! She only rarely wakes in the middle of the night, but I sleep in the same room with her right now so it really affects me when it happens! She also is in bed by 7:30 pm and, since giving up napping, is now falling asleep before I even leave the room. She has always woken up around 6am, but goes through phases of 5 or 5:30 am. She is absolutely not allowed to leave the room until 6am. Sometimes that means I'm dealing with an hour of "Is it time yet?"'s but at least I'm still horizontal and cozy in my bed (if she's not crawling all over me and trying to body slam me...)! She dropped napping a few months ago because even getting an hour of quiet time was causing a HUGE tantrum filled, kicking and screaming fight everyday. I'd rather have this grumpy, sleep-deprived girl than have to deal with trying to get her down for quiet time everyday! She only will fall asleep in the car if we are driving for at least 20 minutes and it's after 3pm...but she pees in her sleep so unless I'm prepared for that I tend not to drive her around for a nap...especially not with my twins in the car!
If I were you I'd try moving her bedtime up. Also, is she nighttime potty trained? Maybe something like that is waking her up at night? Good luck figuring it out...and if you do, let me know what worked!
CFRANZAK - I wish I could keep Katie in her room until 8am! Even when she had her own room I couldn't make that happen. How did you wean Wyatt off of wanting a toy for it? Katie's been potty trained (during the day) for a year now and yet still asks for a piece of candy for going in the toilet quite often!
Kathryn Avery was born 2/25/06
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Everyone has quiet/nap time every day (except in the occasional situation where it cannot be helped) This is between 1:30-2:30/3, depending if he actually falls asleep. Caitlyn still naps almost every day, but Wyatt only does 1-2x/week. During quiet time I keep the lights low: no overhead light but allowed blinds open which allows soft lighting for reading/quiet play.
Their bedtime varies between 7-8:30, depending on if they nap, what we were up to, and level of crankiness.
If we have had a multiple time-out day, they will be asked to go to their room to think about their behaviour or just calm down. When they are calm we talk about expectations for their behaviour.
They also have outside time everyday before lunch and after afternoon snack. Depending on the weather they might be out for 30 minutes to an hour and a half. They dictate. There is no tv after 10... I need a break in the morning while I get us all ready of the day so they are allowed treehouse or a movie in the morning. The rule is when they come in we have lunch, sometimes a bath (because they made mud pies or played in the sand), book, then quiet time. They know that they decide when it is time for quiet time so they tend to stay outside for quite a while, but they always come in when they are tired and hungry.
The last rule, but our most important, you can wake-up whenever but we do not get up as a family until 8. I work nights and I made this rule when I noticed Wyatt getting up earlier and earlier. The first thing I did was get him a blackout blind, which helped add back an hour. The second was that I rewarded him for playing quietly until 8. I had a bag of dollar store toys that I had bought for potty training and I used them for the quiet play. It worked like a dream.
ACANCREDI
Posts: 436
6/8/09 12:43 P
Hi gals. Ellora has not napped in about 5 months, so this isn't new. However, she has been waking in the middle of the night...wide awake...falling back asleep after an hour or so and then waking at 5-5:30 for the day. She's in bed by 7:30 and falls asleep within minutes. Her day is full of tantrums, whining, nasty demands, hitting and fighting with her sisters...even biting on the rare occasion. I think she's overtired. If I put her in the car she'll pass out within minutes, but I can't stop the car or she wakes up. I thought moving her bedtime a little later would help, but no. The only time I found relief was when she did manage to pass out and nap for 2 1/2 hours then she went to bed at 7 and slept until 7. This is what tells me her sleep issues are the result of deprivation. HOW DO I FIX THIS??? I can't make her nap...or make her stay asleep.
I hope there's a sleep goddess out there with some suggestions.
I think it's safe to say that her lack of sleep is effecting me too...I just realized I put "HEAR" in the subject instead of "here"!!! Ooops!!
Edited by: ACANCREDI at: 6/8/2009 (12:44)
A HypnoBirthing mom and practitioner,
"Taking the birthing world by calm"!
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