Ok, so next up, let's talk about bed time, which has been an issue in my house lately.
What's your bed time routine with your kids? Does it work for you? Do you read books? How many books? Does your child ask for 500 sips of water before bed? Do you lay down with them before leaving the room? Do you sneak out of their room? Do you enjoy the routine or loathe it?
So up until exactly two nights ago Lukas was still in his crib and our bedtime routine went something like this.
START: 7pm(ish)
-Convince little man to take off his clothes and try to pee pee in the potty. This involves reminding him that he will receive 2 m&ms and a sticker on his potty chart if he goes. He loves chocolate so most nights he can make at least a little water (yes, we call it "make water" or pee pee). High-fiving and dancing ensues after a successful potty attempt.
-Diaper and PJ changing is next. We learned the hard way that we must wait to give the m&ms until AFTER the diaper and pjs are put on.
-Next up we pick out the books we're going to read. Usually 4-5 books.
-Lukas then kisses mommy or daddy goodnight and the "off duty" parent leaves.
-Lukas then closes his bedroom door. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLOSE THE DOOR FOR HIM. Tears will follow if you do along with shouting that "it's my turn" over and over until you re-open the door for him to close it.
-Did I mention that many nights he has a cookie and a glass of milk while we read books? Yea. Well. That. No comment.
- We sit on the glider together and begin reading the books. About half way through Lukas will request water or milk (whichever beverage he doesn't currently have). So up we go to get water. Again, must let Lukas close the door once we're back in the room. (Might he have some OCD tendencies? Or is that just a 2 year old?)
- We get to the last book and I remind him that this is the last book. After this book, it's bed time.
- We read the last book and he demands "one more book". Sometimes I give in. Ok, usually I give in. We read one more book.
- He must go "hug and kiss daddy". Mommy must remain in the bedroom during this time. And of course Lukas must close the door.
- He'll usually ask for one more book again "in my crib". I usually agree. We pick the book but rather than getting in his crib he insists that he sits "on your lap." So we sit on the floor and read one more book.
- "Hug and Kiss daddy again". Off he goes. Are we suckers?
- Don't answer that.
- Back in his room. He shuts the door. Now I lift him up to turn off the lights (again, it is ALWAYS Lukas' turn to turn off the lights. Always).
- Now he asks to rock. So back in the glider we go and we rock.
- Yes we are suckers.
- Between 2-5 minutes later it's time to go in the crib. Lukas walks over to the crib and climbs up on the edge and you have to hoist him half way up so he can climb in, otherwise there are tears.
- "Need water."
- Administer water.
- "One more book?" I usually don't give in, but if I do it's Goodnight Moon because that's the one book I know by heart and can read in the dark.
- Eventually we finish all the stall tactics and he lays down. Now you have to master putting the blanket on him just so. This can take up to 5 minutes.
- I rub his back and give kisses, say "night night" and tell him I love him.
- But then: "Mommy lay down."
- If I don't do as I'm
- Mommy lays down. - Mommy tries to sneak out 2-5 minutes later.
- Mommy fails.
- Mommy lays back down and eventually sneaks out.
END: 8pm(ish)
Yes, bedtime takes a full hour most days. And many days I end up in tears because I end up laying on his floor for 20 minutes and he still screams when I leave. I've decided I'm not emotionally stable enough to handle a crying it out session, even though I know we're being manipulated. My working-mom guilt kicks into high gear at night when he cries and begs me not to leave his room. And I just can't handle that right now. So we decided we needed to switch it up.
Saturday morning Mr. Cob turned the crib into the toddler bed (aka Lukas' new "big boy bed"). Lukas was SO EXCITED when he saw his big boy bed (and has been telling everyone he sees about his new bed -it is adorable). And so far bedtime has been a little less stressful. We still go through the entire book-reading/milk-drinking/daddy-hugging/rocker-snuggling process, which is the part I honestly love. But now when it's time for him to actually go to sleep, something has changed. He walks over and gets in his big boy bed. Mommy or daddy sits down next to his bed, puts the blanket over him and rubs his back for a few minutes. We give kisses and ask him if he wants us to leave his door open. He says yes and we leave his room WITHOUT ANY LYING ON THE FLOOR!!! I realize our sample size is only 2 days, but it's been 2 very stress-free bedtimes in a row, so I'll take it!
And the kicker, he doesn't get out of his big boy bed until one of us comes in his room in the morning. He even took an hour and a half nap in his big boy bed without any sleeping this weekend but never once tried to get out of the bed! Again, this could be a complete fluke, but so far the transition to the big boy bed has been WAY better than I anticipated.
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| My non-napping napper. |
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