With the new baby coming, I've gotten pretty nostalgic lately and have been looking through some of the photos we took of Colin when he was brand new. I remember fondly the way he could fall asleep anywhere and everywhere. I would hold him as he napped, and feel the soft little puffs of milky breath against my skin. He was such a peaceful baby.
And then he became a toddler. Yikes. Colin is still my sweet boy and will cuddle occasionally, but over the past couple months, he has become a little tornado of chaos and energy. He's in full-blown teething mode now, and is currently working on his eyeteeth and molars (ouch!), so I think sometimes that causes him to be moody. We're working on teaching him what behaviors are appropriate, and which are not, even when he's upset (ie hitting us and himself, throwing toys, falling dramatically on the floor and wailing when we won't let him play with something dangerous). But perhaps most upsetting of all, when my little man reached toddlerhood, he decided that bedtime was a game and that he didn't have to go to sleep if he didn't feel like it.
Here is how bedtime would go.
1. Warm bath
2. Clean diaper & pajamas
3. Sippy of milk, brush teeth, give pacifier
4. Give in to his desire to play, read books, watch TV, etc.
5. Comment often at how wide awake he is, and wonder when he will go to bed
6. Wait for extreme signs of sleepiness, lay him down in his crib
7. If he stands up and/or cries, pick him up and cuddle until he's ready to sleep
8. Lay him down and pray he goes to sleep
Something had to give. Since the hubs and I both work full time outside the home, we don't get much time together as a family, and even less time together as a couple. We value our time with Colin, of course, but it is nice to have a couple hours to just hang out and be together before we turn in for the night. Out of desperation, we decided to try a technique we had seen on Supernanny once. It goes like this. When your child stands up in his crib (or gets out of bed), you go in, tuck him in again, tell him goodnight, and leave. When he does it again, you go in without a word and tuck him in once more. You continue to repeat the tuck-ins until he finally gives in and goes to sleep.
The first night we tried this, I tucked Colin in 8 times. I actually expected to have to do it more times than just 8, so I counted that as a victory. The first few times, he laughed when I walked in the room, and I had to work hard to keep a straight face. He's so dang cute that it was tough not to smile right back! But I was on a mission. Justin waited outside the door throughout the whole thing, but I was the one to go in each time, for consistency's sake.
The next time we used the technique, it took 4 tuck-ins. Colin seemed to know more quickly that I meant business, and that his crib was for sleeping, not playing.
The last two nights, guess how many times I had to tuck him in? ONCE. ONE TIME. That's it! We followed the usual routine, which I should mention starts around 7:30 pm to make sure he's in bed by 8:30ish, although it was a little later than that tonight. Actually, we were afraid we were in for it this evening, because when Justin tried to hold him and steal some pre-bedtime snuggles, Colin wiggled and fussed like he wanted down. We decided to go ahead and put him straight to bed rather than letting him down to play, and bam - that was it! He rolled over, found a comfy position, and went to sleep. And then a chorus of angels sang a series of hallelujahs.
Have you tried any sleep training methods with your toddler? If so, how's it going?
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