About a month ago, Alan and I were beyond frustrated and totally exhausted. Isaac would wake up around 4:30 and fuss for a bit, eventually falling back asleep, but by that time Alan and I were wide awake. Then Jacob would wake up for the day around 5:30 and Isaac would be up shortly after. Isaac wasn't napping well either and many afternoons I would walk around the neighborhood for over an hour while the boys slept in the stroller. By the end of the week Alan and I were tired and cranky and wondering what we could do to get the boys to sleep in longer in the morning.
About that time one of my friends posted a link to the Good Nite Lite. We were desperate so we ordered a couple. You program the night light for when you want the moon to shine and when you want the sun to come up.
We prepped the boys and showed them the pictures repeatedly in hopes that when the night lights arrived, they would know what to do.
When the moon is shining, you need to be quiet and go back to sleep.
If you wake up and the sun is shining, then it is okay to call for mommy and daddy.
Isaac actually did better at it than Jacob. Jacob would still wake up around 5:15 and call for us. Grrrrr! So we decided to make a chart. Gotta love charts! We told them that if they are quiet until the sun comes up, they get a sun or a moon on their chart and once they reached 5 we would take them out for ice cream. We finally got to go for ice cream today! Isaac reached 5 a few days ago, but Jacob was lagging behind.
I think we'll continue with the chart since they seem to like it and it seems to be working. We started with wake up time at 5:30 and we just kept moving it forward 5 minutes at a time. We're at 6:00 wake up time now! Isaac has even been sleeping until 6:30 some mornings and his napping is much, much better. He sleeps in his crib, doesn't scream and will nap for 2 hours or more. Yay! Yay! Yay!
They are so funny with these night lights! They say, 'Night-night, moon!' When Jacob sees the sun shining he says in a totally monotone voice, 'I see the sun. I see the sun.' Isaac says, 'Good morning, sun!' and starts jumping up and down in his bed, giggling.
Hopefully the better sleep habits will continue and get even better!
4 comments:
What fantastic ideas, I had problems with Gracie doing the same thing when she was little. Then I read Happy Sleep Happy Child or something along that lines...it recommended putting the child to bed earlier if they were getting up so early. Sounds strange to me but believe it or not it actually worked. Gracie would go to be at 630 and not get up until 7! But it was so hard to be committed to that time!! Wish you luck and just love the clocks!
Cute clocks! I can't even imagine getting up that early! I've been so lucky Zach is such a good sleeper! I'm hoping the new baby is too :) Glad to hear the clocks seem to be working for you guys!
What a great idea! You're a genius Patty! I'm glad they are sleeping later for you!!
Yay, I'm so happy that everyone is sleeping better, and Isaac is sleeping in his crib for naps. It's amazing how different and energized a little bit more sleep can make you feel.
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