I think we may have victory. Of course children seem to be finicky things and one day something works perfectly for them and the next, you can do the same exact thing and it's filled with horror. Gwyneth spent the night in her bed, except for the two times she fell out of it and we found her sleeping on the floor beside it shortly after the "thuds." We were able to effortlessly put her back in bed. She did wake up at 3AM crying, but stayed in bed as she was calling out for "mommy." I went to cuddle her back to calm and didn't hear a peep from her until 8:17AM. I did find her out of her bed when I got up, paging through her favorite book, but she still had an imprint of her ear on her arm left from sleeping on it, so I knew that she hadn't been up for long.
Our little girl is growing up!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
"Bed Training" Part Deux
It seems as we may have a success tonight as well! Here's to hoping. Gwyneth was put down at around 7:45PM. It's now 8:38PM. She's actually stayed in bed and under the covers (another 1st) this whole time, except just a couple times, where she actually hobbled over in her sleep sack to pick out her favorite book. I caved it and read it to her (shame on me) which cued another quick set of out of bed, back in beds. Now she's tucked in one more time and totally quiet. Bravo Gwyn!
We've been trying to get her really excited about this whole new sleeping arrangement and I think it's really worked. When Wes got home today, he looked at her new "bed" and told her how big she was getting, etc. She's been getting really good at putting all her stuffed animals to bed, Teddy, Bear-Bear, Red (another bear), Thing (an "ugly doll"), Ellie the Elephant, and Baby.
Maybe this is just the calm before the storm and I should be knocking on wood, but I didn't expect it to be so easy! We'll see what morning brings. She does the occasional stirring at 4 or 5AM and then goes back to sleep, but without boundaries, she may skip the going back to sleep part, which could present a nightmare...but for now, I'll be a proud mama! If we can do this, I think we may avoid problems in the future, as the early toddler will is not so strong as the advanced toddler will. I'd rather teach her "bed boundaries" during the early toddler stage.
We've been trying to get her really excited about this whole new sleeping arrangement and I think it's really worked. When Wes got home today, he looked at her new "bed" and told her how big she was getting, etc. She's been getting really good at putting all her stuffed animals to bed, Teddy, Bear-Bear, Red (another bear), Thing (an "ugly doll"), Ellie the Elephant, and Baby.
Maybe this is just the calm before the storm and I should be knocking on wood, but I didn't expect it to be so easy! We'll see what morning brings. She does the occasional stirring at 4 or 5AM and then goes back to sleep, but without boundaries, she may skip the going back to sleep part, which could present a nightmare...but for now, I'll be a proud mama! If we can do this, I think we may avoid problems in the future, as the early toddler will is not so strong as the advanced toddler will. I'd rather teach her "bed boundaries" during the early toddler stage.
"Bed Training"
Well, the Patterson household is facing many changes, all of them largely revolving around the move to Belfast. With a little one in the picture, keeping the balance is especially tricky. We're trying to figure out what the best way to approach such a move is - would it be better to continue nursing until after our arrival, or stop now, would it be better to potty train her now, or later, would it be better to get her used to sleeping in a bed now since she will soon be crib-less in 3 weeks and without a pack n' play shortly after, or do we wing it? Nothing seems easy about these transitions with a toddler in everyday life, but it all seems much more complicated when making a transatlantic move.
Today we decided to try giving up the crib and getting her used to the mattress on the floor, which means that she has a newfound freedom when she's supposed to be sleeping. Right before her nap, I took down her crib, vacuumed the floor, and set the mattress in the empty space. Gwyneth thought it was all exciting. She had no problem when I put her into her new boundary-less bed for her nap time. However, the problem was in keeping her there. We had a battle of the wills for the first 13 minutes. I'd listen for her movements outside the door, she'd crawl off the mattress and I'd jump the gate and silently, but sternly put her back in bed. At first she thought it was quite a fun game, then she started to comprehend that I meant business. After a few more test escapes, she flew her white flag and succummed. I sat outside her door and waited for a few minutes of no sound or movement, and by 12:20, she was fast asleep! Success! Now I'm not sure how sleeping through the night will go, but I'm sure we'll go through this again tonight...and here's to hoping. In the meantime, we're going to practice tucking in her stuffed animals, saying "nightie-night" and giving them the good-night kiss.
Oh, other news on the front. Gwyneth got her first blood-sucking parasite! Yesterday, I pulled off a fat, disgusting wood tick. I generally have a strong stomach and have no problem with the standard "gross out" situations or conversations, but I felt like I could easily throw up at the sight of the creature. Ick. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this may not be the last experience of that type. Someday, she'll probably come home from school with head lice and infect us all!
Today we decided to try giving up the crib and getting her used to the mattress on the floor, which means that she has a newfound freedom when she's supposed to be sleeping. Right before her nap, I took down her crib, vacuumed the floor, and set the mattress in the empty space. Gwyneth thought it was all exciting. She had no problem when I put her into her new boundary-less bed for her nap time. However, the problem was in keeping her there. We had a battle of the wills for the first 13 minutes. I'd listen for her movements outside the door, she'd crawl off the mattress and I'd jump the gate and silently, but sternly put her back in bed. At first she thought it was quite a fun game, then she started to comprehend that I meant business. After a few more test escapes, she flew her white flag and succummed. I sat outside her door and waited for a few minutes of no sound or movement, and by 12:20, she was fast asleep! Success! Now I'm not sure how sleeping through the night will go, but I'm sure we'll go through this again tonight...and here's to hoping. In the meantime, we're going to practice tucking in her stuffed animals, saying "nightie-night" and giving them the good-night kiss.
Oh, other news on the front. Gwyneth got her first blood-sucking parasite! Yesterday, I pulled off a fat, disgusting wood tick. I generally have a strong stomach and have no problem with the standard "gross out" situations or conversations, but I felt like I could easily throw up at the sight of the creature. Ick. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this may not be the last experience of that type. Someday, she'll probably come home from school with head lice and infect us all!
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