Save Our Sleep – an update

We have progress, of sorts.

MrJ2 is getting much better at staying awake all day as we all settle back into the term-time routine. As a result, he is going to bed better in the evenings, and no longer needs someone to sit in with him. Often, MrJ2 is asleep less than 10 minutes after his heads the pillow.

MissC1 is also getting better at going to bed. I now tuck her in, and sit down on the floor near the door with a book or the laptop. She wiggles around a little, but falls asleep on her own fairly easily. This is a huge improvement on needing to lean over the cot with my hand patting a heart-beat rhythm against her thigh or resting gently on her back, and a step forward from sitting directly beside the cot as she falls asleep. The next stage will involve slowly moving my way across the floor and out the door as she falls asleep unaided. This should eventually lead to us being able to put her to bed, tuck her in, and walking straight out.

The biggest key in teaching children to sleep unaided is consistency. Once you’ve decided what your sleep-time will include or exclude, then do that every time. For our older children, this means their nightly routine is identical whether we are home or staying with family. For MissC1, this means similar things happen just before her day-sleep as at night time (although, there are subtle differences – right after lunch, I don’t clean her teeth or change her into her pyjamas 🙂 )

– Rebecca