Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A 3 Year Old + 3 Quarters = Nighttime Peace

Our kids have always been hard to put to bed (and keep to sleep). Kaci never really slept in a crib. When she was 10 months old, we put a mattress on the floor and would lay with her until she fell asleep. (It was much more peaceful that listening to a baby scream for hours) Well, now she is 3 and that is still how she expects to fall asleep. It wouldn't be so bad, except for it can take hours for those sweet eyes to finally close and for her breathing to get slow and steady. After a long day, falling asleep at 8:30 pm in a twin size bed, waking up a few hours later and stumbling to your own bed is not a happy thing. Shanna was the same way, and when she was about 3 we were able to reason with her that a 10 minute snuggle was sufficient.

Last night, I decided that I would have a "grown up talk" with Kaci. I told her that I would snuggle her for 10 minutes, and then she needed to stay in bed, hug her piggy and go to sleep like a big girl. I told her that I would leave money and a note by her bed if she didn't get up. Guess What? IT WORKED! She didn't get up once, and she was asleep within minutes!

It was a great night. I did laundry, watched Oprah, stretched.... and I left a pink heart note telling her how proud I was of her with 3 quarters! Let's hope it works tonight too!!

No comments: