Finally.... Some Sleep!

Who would have ever thought that my 5-month old would be sleeping better than my 2 1/2-year old? It seems hard to believe, but it's so true! Tyler sleeps 12 hours straight a night (I am dead serious) and Gavin typically wakes up about every 4 or 5 hours (plus, he refuses to go to sleep from the very beginning). Does something seem wrong with this picture? I thought the same thing too. As I hit complete exhaustion 2 weeks ago and was bawling everyday, I decided it was finally time to do something about these terrible sleep habits. So I ordered a book called Teach Your Child to Sleep, hoping for a complete miracle. Of course, their only suggestion was to get your child on a schedule (just like every other sleep book out there). As hard as I tried to utilize every suggestion they made, nothing was working. I would think I had Gavin all settled down and ready to go to sleep, and then he would start bouncing off the walls, crying, or wanting a bottle (a bad habit he has had for a long time).

As I dealt with this on Monday, my patience was running so thin and I honestly felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. It had been happening for way too long, and I knew something had to change. So I finally just sat down and analyzed what was happening when we put Gavin to bed. Typically, we pushed bedtime as quickly as we could to have time to ourselves, and didn't talk to Gavin about why he needed to go to sleep or even what he was doing. We would just put him in bed, brush his teeth, and close the door. Of course, within 30 seconds, he was always at the door knocking and screaming. So I decided that maybe I needed to put a little more of a positive spin on bedtime and spend more time with him before he went to bed. I started by telling him all of his friends and cousins that go to sleep, and don't need bottles because "they are big boys." Then I told him all the fun things we would do when he woke up, and that if he woke up during the night, everything would be okay. He just needed to take a drink from his sippy (instead of calling for a "bo bo") and go back to sleep. I then said prayers with him, brushed his teeth, and kissed him goodnight. As usual, I closed his door and went downstairs expecting to hear pounding on the door in about 30 seconds, but nothing. He actually went to sleep! I did the same thing with his nap the next day, and again that next night. So far, it seems to be working and he doesn't put up a fight when he goes to bed now. In fact, he hasn't been waking up during the night either (at least not that I have heard)! Who knew that just putting a more positive spin on things could help so much? It has been such a relief so let's pray it lasts! And finally, I feel like I have some sanity back! It's a fabulous feeling! Until next time (and a much more rested next time at that)! -Ash