coupons, sales, deals, offers, baby, freebies, samples, giveaways, discount, bottles, diapers, formula, twins, triplets, free, matchups, stores, Tops, Target, Wal-Mart, Aldi
Free Baby Samples
 

Naps are still rough.  I admit that.  Joe ends up rubbing her back or sitting with her.  This past weekend she didn't even get naps - Memorial Day Weekend and plenty of BBQ's and running around...

As far as night time, we stick with our routine and it seems to be working.  We let her CIO after 3 or 4 books.  It normally lasts less than 3 or 4 minutes.  She insists on having her sippy cup with her.  She doesn't drink it...she just holds it - almost like a comfort to her.  So I put a little water in it and let her fall asleep with it in her arms and then before we go up to bed I cover her up and take it back.  Rarely she will  wake up in the middle of the night or an hour or so before my alarm, but in less than a minute she is back to sleep.  It is nice because with only 5 more weeks until Gavin arrives I am able to get some sleep! 

I am sure the longer this goes on, the more comfortable she will be in her big-girl bed.
This past weekend she let us sleep until 9:30 on Saturday and 9 on Sunday.  It was heaven!!   


 

Well, I finally had it.....after an hour I could not get Morgan to bed by using my "books and backrubs" technique.  I got so frustrated that I decided to leave the room and go do the dishes.  As you can imagine....she was not happy about me leaving.  She immediately got out of bed and ran to the door crying.  I told her to get back in bed and she did.

A few minutes later I heard her crying again and she was standing by her door.  I again told her to get back to bed and she ran and jumped in bed.  She cried for a couple minutes, but then fell sleep!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I heard her cry again around 3 am, but decided to wait a while to see what would happen.  The gate was up, so I knew she couldn't get out of her room.  Within 15 minutes all was quite again! 2 successful CIO sessions!! 

She slept until about 8:15 am. 

So...we are in week 2 and I think the CIO method is what I will be trying each night this week.  I remember once I got her to learn to get herself to sleep in the crib using the CIO method that night time became a calmer and more routine experience for us all.  Here is hoping that the same is true for CIO toddler bed!!

 

Much the same - some good nights and some bad.  We are not laying with her until she falls asleep, but we do rub her back or read books until she does and then we sneak out.  Hopefully she can start getting to sleep on her own without us in the room.

Nap time this weekend was a bust.  Saturday did not work at all so after 2 hours we gave up.  Sunday we were so busy she did not get a chance to even try to nap. 

One exciting thing that did happen this morning though - I came downstairs to get ready for work and when I looked in her room she was awake and just laying on her bed playing and talking to her stuffed animals.  It was pretty exciting because normally when she wakes up she starts crying and runs to the door and calls for us all panic-stricken. 

I am hoping this is the progress we need to start getting her more and more comfortable in her room and with the toddler bed. 

41 more days...

 

Much the same....trying not to bore you with repeat reviews! 
Morgan did decide to wake up at 4 am, but Joe got her back to sleep.
I think a little persistence will pay off in the end.
We still have 6 weeks to work with her and I am sure she will adapt and we will look back on this chapter in her life and wonder where the time went.

 

Nap time

After several books Joe just told her to lay down and he did the same.  she was asleep in 15 minutes.  he left and she stayed asleep the entire nap time!!!

Night time

Same as nap time!!!  And this was also the first time she slept through the night!  She didn't get up until 8 am.  I heard her get up and start to cry, so I re-assured her that she could open her door and come out for breakfast and she did and seemed pretty happy.

So another day, another success.  It does seem to be getting easier.  I am hopeful that within the next several weeks that we can get her to fall asleep in her toddler bed without one of us in the room with her.  It would be so nice to be back to normal before I bring Gavin home from the hospital.




 

Nap Time

Joe's newest technique is to read to her, put her in bed and leave.  She cries and screams.  He lets her do this for 10 minutes or so.  He claims it tires her out!  Then he goes back in her room and lays with her and she falls right to sleep.  That is his new "method" as he calls it.  Hey, whatever works!!

Night time

By far the easiest so far!!  We read some books and then I shut off the lights and laid down.  She was actually in her bed instead of on the floor with me and within 15 minutes she was asleep.  I snuck out.  She slept until 5:30am.  I went and laid back down with her and she slept again until 7.  Joe then went down stairs and said she actually laid down again with him for another hour. 

So another successfully day!!

Maybe once we get to the point where she does not wake up screaming or terrified and just learns to play independently it will be better.  For now I think she is doing great for her age

 

Nap time #1

I work full time, so my wonderful stay-at-home husband Joe has to survive the challenges of nap time by himself during the week. 

Here is his play-by-play:

Started out by trying to read her books, gave her the sippy cup.  She soon lost interest with the books.  He then tried laying next to her.  She kept getting up and going to the door and demanding 'OUT!".  He ignored her, hoping she would lay down.  She didn't.  He put her in bed and left the room.  He said he proceeded to do the dishes, change the laundry, etc...to eat up about 20 minutes.  She was still crying.  He then put her back into bed 3 more times.  On the last attempt she actually laid down and was asleep within 2 minutes.  He left.  The process took about 40 minutes from start to slumber.

35 minutes later she woke up crying.  Joe went and laid next to her and she fell back asleep right away.  He left.  He said he had to wake her up from her nap (we are pretty strict about not letting her sleep more than a certain amount of time during naps in the hope it will make the night time routine smooter).

So all-in-all I would say nap time #1 was a SUCCESS!!!

NIGHT TIME - Night #2

I took this task on since Joe had nap time.  I laid with Morgan from 9 -11 PM.  there were tears and crying and she was not happy with me.  I did my best to stay very calm and kept putting her back in bad over and over.  A few times I thought she had even fallen asleep, but she hadn't.  At this point I got her a sippy cup.  Finally she laid next to me on the mattress on the floor and fell asleep.  I snuck out around 11.

I heard her crying around 5am.  6 hours - not bad.....
I went and laid with her.  it took her a little while to fall back to sleep, but she was asleep and I was back up in my own bed by 6am. 
8:30 am - She woke up.  I think in part becuase I was making some noise getting ready for work, but by 8:30 we are usually waking her up anyway to keep her on her schedule.

Again, all-in-all I would say night time #2 was a success.  It also took about 1 1/2 hours less then night #1.  I know it will take time....I am hoping laying next to her while we transition her does not completely screw her up or set a precedence.  All I know is I have 6 weeks to get her back on some kind of sleeping schedule before I bring another baby home!!

 

With 7 weeks to go, I have been going through the motions of preparing for another baby - getting everything washed, set up, etc... and also getting a new "Big-girl" room ready for Morgan.  A friend even gave me a "like-new" toddler bed to use, and once introduced to the new room we had created I hoped my daughter would share in my enthusiasm about it.  At first we just let her play in the new room.  She liked to lay on the bed and read books or play with toys.  We would ask if she wanted to sleep in the "Big-girl" bed, but she always declined.  

I've been getting slightly anxious to get the nursery (Morgans old room - and the room where the crib resides), painted and decorated and all ready for Gavin.  I know he will not need the crib for a few months, but I thought having everything ready would give me a sense of calm.  My husband painted the room and we moved all of Morgans things into her new room.  We decorated the nursery in blues and browns and puppies....the only thing still out of place in the nursery was...Morgan!!  She still napped and slept in the crib.  It was not ideal, but she was only 22 months old.  I told myself she was still young and I had time.  What I failed to realize was that although young...she was also tall!!

Last night (Mothers Day) around 9:30 pm....I am relaxing in the recliner.  I had just put Morgan to sleep (in the crib).  My Husband was searching for something to watch on TV.  And then we heard a loud crashing thud.  The house shook a little and then the crying began.  I ran down the hall and opened the door to the nursery.  And much to my surprise...Morgan ran to greet me!  She had climbed out of her crib!!!  I knew the day would come - she is a tall child - standing almost 36 inches at her 18 months check-up over 3 months ago.  What was I going to do now?!

I checked her over for cuts, broken bones, blood....she was fine.  I calmed her down and told my husband it was time for the big-girl bed.  I could not risk her hurting herself by climbing out of the crib any longer.  But....um.....how do you get a 22 month old to stay in a toddler bed in a new room??  I had searched the internet a week or so ago for advise and instruction.  Most sites tell you similar things.  (limit the toys in the room, provide a child-proof safe room, close the door and wait it out...) I still didn't understand how they would work.  Friends and co-workers told me the child will stay in the bed simply out of a fear of the dark.  (Ha!  Not Morgan!  I am more afraid of the dark then she is!!).  Others said their child was so excited for the toddler bed that they had no problems.  But here I was....10 PM on a Sunday....with no clue what to do.  

Read on for my daily posts on naps and night time to see how Morgan does!

 

I am not sure if it is because I am 7 1/2 months pregnant and exhausted that made night 1 so hard, or if it is just because this was new to me, but it was HARD!!

Attempt #1 - I started out by laying her in her bed and reading to her.  After several books, Joe and I kissed her good night and followed much the same  routine as we had been doing with "crib-life".  Morgan is smart...she knew something was up.  And boy is she fast!!  I think she made it to the door before we did - screaming the whole way!  Ok, so attempt #1 failed.

Attempt #2 - I laid her back in bed and told her it was night-night time.  She let me leave and close the door.  Then she started screaming and pounding on the door.  After 10 minutes I gave up. 

Attempt #3 - I thought maybe she needed more time to relax - especially after that fall from the crib.  I got her some milk and sat in my recliner with her and watched TV for a while.  She actually fell asleep on me.  I thought...hmmm...maybe I can just lay her down in the bed.  So I did.  And she got right back up - mad as ever!!

Attempt #4 - Again left the room and closed the door behind me.  This time after 5 minutes of screaming it got quite.  I thought I was making progress until I heard my husband laugh.  I turned to see what he was laughing about...and there was Morgan.  She had gotten the door open and was in the living room.  I was so frustrated I let her play for a while.  I didn't know what to do.  What should I try next?

Attempt #5 - I put her in her bed and I laid on the floor next to her.  she seemed to like that.  She would lay in bed for a while and then get up and go over to the door.  She kept asking to get "out".  After 10 minutes she came over and laid next to me on the floor.  15 minutes latter she was asleep.  not in her bed, but on a blanket on the floor next to her bed.  Good enough for me!

At 1 am I snuck out of her room and went upstairs to my own bed...husband in tow.

And Morgan slept in her new room for the first time all by herself until 7:30 am!!!

To bad Joe and I got little sleep - worrying about how she would do....if she would wake up...how was were sad she was growing up so fast....ugh!  Parenting - It is such a joy and an emotional drain and the same time! 

Wonder how nap time will go tomorrow???


coupons, sales, deals, offers, baby, freebies, samples, giveaways, discount, bottles, diapers, formula, twins, triplets, free, matchups, stores, Tops, Target, Wal-Mart, Aldi