Since Rowan was born she has had trouble sleeping. For her whole life she has needed one of us to be with her to go to sleep. She nursed to sleep for her first 2.5 years, and after that Matthew or I would have to lay with her in a dark room sometimes for hours to get her to go to sleep. It wasn't that she wasn't tired, its just that she has always been unable to go to sleep without help. Its been rough, and very tiring, but always I felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Someday, when she was ready she would be able to go to bed like a big girl, without mommy and daddy. That day has come!!
A couple weeks ago I moved her mattress from our room back into her room, and set up Killian's old CD player in there. Its what I used to help Killian learn to go to sleep by himself (which didn't happen until he was 4 years old). We had tried the CD player trick with Rowan when we first moved in here, but it didn't work at all. Apparently both my kids have just needed time, lots of time, to get to the point where they are ready to face bedtime alone. I figured we would give it a shot again with Rowan, and its going so well I can hardly believe it!
At night we read stories, have a snack, brush teeth and cuddle, and then she gets into bed. I turn on her nightlight, and start a book on tape for her (her favorite right now is Finding Nemo). With a hug and a kiss we leave and close the door almost all the way. She usually calls to have us come in and check on her about 3-4 times before she actually settles down and falls asleep, but I don't mind. Its so much better than laying in a dark room waiting forever for her to fall asleep! Bedtime is stress free and happy, and I am really enjoying this extra time that Matthew and I are getting at night.
Since she loves books on tape so much I have been wanting to find her some more to add to her collection. Matthew checks a website called WOOT.com every day, they have really great deals with cheap shipping. The other day he found this Audiobook set, which is perfect for Rowan! We bought the Happy Endings, Tales of Friendship, and Enchanted Worlds set. They are beautifully done, Rowan listened to Alice in Wonderland last night and it sounded so nice that I wanted to stay in there and listen to it with her!
I am so glad that we waited until she was ready for this, instead of forcing it on her. Its meant that Matthew and I have had quite a few nights we wanted to pull out our hair, and a lot of couple time that we missed out on. But seeing how easy it is now, I know waiting was the right thing to do. She was ready for it....our baby girl is growing up!
A couple weeks ago I moved her mattress from our room back into her room, and set up Killian's old CD player in there. Its what I used to help Killian learn to go to sleep by himself (which didn't happen until he was 4 years old). We had tried the CD player trick with Rowan when we first moved in here, but it didn't work at all. Apparently both my kids have just needed time, lots of time, to get to the point where they are ready to face bedtime alone. I figured we would give it a shot again with Rowan, and its going so well I can hardly believe it!
At night we read stories, have a snack, brush teeth and cuddle, and then she gets into bed. I turn on her nightlight, and start a book on tape for her (her favorite right now is Finding Nemo). With a hug and a kiss we leave and close the door almost all the way. She usually calls to have us come in and check on her about 3-4 times before she actually settles down and falls asleep, but I don't mind. Its so much better than laying in a dark room waiting forever for her to fall asleep! Bedtime is stress free and happy, and I am really enjoying this extra time that Matthew and I are getting at night.
Since she loves books on tape so much I have been wanting to find her some more to add to her collection. Matthew checks a website called WOOT.com every day, they have really great deals with cheap shipping. The other day he found this Audiobook set, which is perfect for Rowan! We bought the Happy Endings, Tales of Friendship, and Enchanted Worlds set. They are beautifully done, Rowan listened to Alice in Wonderland last night and it sounded so nice that I wanted to stay in there and listen to it with her!
I am so glad that we waited until she was ready for this, instead of forcing it on her. Its meant that Matthew and I have had quite a few nights we wanted to pull out our hair, and a lot of couple time that we missed out on. But seeing how easy it is now, I know waiting was the right thing to do. She was ready for it....our baby girl is growing up!