Amen, Stephanie. I am so glad you posted this because my girls have always had difficulty falling asleep since they were colicky newborns and its nice to know we’re not alone in the toddlerhood bedtime troubles! I’ve tried lying with them until they fall asleep (they often wake an hour later and cry, or it cuts into my “me” time by hours and makes me resentful), and also sleep training/cry-it-out out starting at 7 months old (they’re 17 months now!) which still hurts my heart to hear. We now do a combo where we lay with them with the lights out (after story in bed) and sing/hum a few lullabies and rub their backs for 5 minutes then quietly leave without fanfare. Sometimes they cry for a few minutes, sometimes they’ve already fallen asleep, sometimes one has fallen asleep but the other cries when we leave but will cuddle up with her sis and settle down. Rarely do they cry longer than 10-15 minutes (off an on)- if they do then I know someone has a dirty diaper, is teething, or is just not tired yet/is overtired and exhausted. At that point we normally go in quietly in the dark, with no words, and check them/lay down with them for a few more minutes. It helps that they sleep in the same bed – they have since they started crawling and one would always crawl into the others’ bed! We just pushed their mattresses together and let them have a big roomy pad. I wonder if Brooke & Mackenzie ever sleep together? We have a video monitor so we can peek at our little sleeping darlings!
I agree too that the routine is key. Anytime we’ve varied it or strayed from that order it’s rocked their night (and ours) so it’s just not worth it- for their sake or ours! Friends without kids have a hard time understanding our insistence on following this routine and timing.
I wish they would be able to just play or read books until they’re tired enough to go lay down in their beds and fall asleep, but at that time of the night they just go ballistic when we leave the room! Have you ever been able to just leave a low light/night light on and let your girls play until they sleep?
星期四, 12月 13th, 2012 8:45 pm | Gillian Baxter
Hi Gillian,
B and M also sleep on one big bed that we created out of their two individual mattresses. They usually stay on their side at bedtime, but by morning, they are all over the place!
I have not been able to just leave a light on and let them play till they sleep, mostly because that hasn’t been our routine. What they are familiar with is lights out at 815 and then they stay in the room by themselves (after our good night rounds) till they fall asleep.
So good to hear from you and read your updates on the girls!
星期四, 12月 20th, 2012 10:17 am | Stephanie Woo
Thanks for this post! I love the methods you’re using here and we have used some of them in the past, and the bedtime routine consistently. But it’s good to be reminded when we’re feeling cranky and out of ideas to just stick with it! I will need to try leading him back to his room instead of picking him up and forcing him back on his bed. Also the part about him not being forced to ‘sleep’.
Hi Stephanie, my little daughter is now 9 months and has been sleeping on her floor bed since she’s 5 months. When she started to crawl and pull up on things, she would stay right behind the door or pull up on it and i wouldn’t be able to open it to go in. So I had to put a standing gate so I could open the door. Then she would pull up on the gate and cry. I usually just let her cry for 5 minutes before I would go in to pick her up and soothe her for 1-2 minutes, then put her down. I was just wondering if you had the same problem with your little ones blocking the door. I don’t know if I should keep the gate or remove it since I don’t want her to feel restricted like she’s being in a bigger crib. Although she does play with her toys sometimes in the morning for 10-15 mins or so, she doesn’t really play in her room before bed time. So as soon as I turn off the light and close the door, she’s headed straight to the gate and start to fuss. Any advise on how to encourage her to play or crawl around in her room before she’s ready to go to sleep? She does play on her own around the house, just not in her bedroom.
星期一, 6月 23rd, 2014 6:36 am | an ho
I forgot to mention, I’ve been following a routine everyday too. Walk, eat, bath, milk, reading book, then light out.
星期一, 6月 23rd, 2014 6:38 am | an ho
All great tips! You are spot on about dads being better at putting kids to bed. Our first 2 kids (3rd is still nursing before bed.) would pull me back for question after question, book after book, hug after hug…but my husband was/is always able to read them a quick book, tuck them in with a hug and a kiss and that was it!
Amen, Stephanie. I am so glad you posted this because my girls have always had difficulty falling asleep since they were colicky newborns and its nice to know we’re not alone in the toddlerhood bedtime troubles! I’ve tried lying with them until they fall asleep (they often wake an hour later and cry, or it cuts into my “me” time by hours and makes me resentful), and also sleep training/cry-it-out out starting at 7 months old (they’re 17 months now!) which still hurts my heart to hear. We now do a combo where we lay with them with the lights out (after story in bed) and sing/hum a few lullabies and rub their backs for 5 minutes then quietly leave without fanfare. Sometimes they cry for a few minutes, sometimes they’ve already fallen asleep, sometimes one has fallen asleep but the other cries when we leave but will cuddle up with her sis and settle down. Rarely do they cry longer than 10-15 minutes (off an on)- if they do then I know someone has a dirty diaper, is teething, or is just not tired yet/is overtired and exhausted. At that point we normally go in quietly in the dark, with no words, and check them/lay down with them for a few more minutes. It helps that they sleep in the same bed – they have since they started crawling and one would always crawl into the others’ bed! We just pushed their mattresses together and let them have a big roomy pad. I wonder if Brooke & Mackenzie ever sleep together? We have a video monitor so we can peek at our little sleeping darlings!
I agree too that the routine is key. Anytime we’ve varied it or strayed from that order it’s rocked their night (and ours) so it’s just not worth it- for their sake or ours! Friends without kids have a hard time understanding our insistence on following this routine and timing.
I wish they would be able to just play or read books until they’re tired enough to go lay down in their beds and fall asleep, but at that time of the night they just go ballistic when we leave the room! Have you ever been able to just leave a low light/night light on and let your girls play until they sleep?
Hi Gillian,
B and M also sleep on one big bed that we created out of their two individual mattresses. They usually stay on their side at bedtime, but by morning, they are all over the place!
I have not been able to just leave a light on and let them play till they sleep, mostly because that hasn’t been our routine. What they are familiar with is lights out at 815 and then they stay in the room by themselves (after our good night rounds) till they fall asleep.
So good to hear from you and read your updates on the girls!
Thanks for this post! I love the methods you’re using here and we have used some of them in the past, and the bedtime routine consistently. But it’s good to be reminded when we’re feeling cranky and out of ideas to just stick with it! I will need to try leading him back to his room instead of picking him up and forcing him back on his bed. Also the part about him not being forced to ‘sleep’.
Hi Stephanie, my little daughter is now 9 months and has been sleeping on her floor bed since she’s 5 months. When she started to crawl and pull up on things, she would stay right behind the door or pull up on it and i wouldn’t be able to open it to go in. So I had to put a standing gate so I could open the door. Then she would pull up on the gate and cry. I usually just let her cry for 5 minutes before I would go in to pick her up and soothe her for 1-2 minutes, then put her down. I was just wondering if you had the same problem with your little ones blocking the door. I don’t know if I should keep the gate or remove it since I don’t want her to feel restricted like she’s being in a bigger crib. Although she does play with her toys sometimes in the morning for 10-15 mins or so, she doesn’t really play in her room before bed time. So as soon as I turn off the light and close the door, she’s headed straight to the gate and start to fuss. Any advise on how to encourage her to play or crawl around in her room before she’s ready to go to sleep? She does play on her own around the house, just not in her bedroom.
I forgot to mention, I’ve been following a routine everyday too. Walk, eat, bath, milk, reading book, then light out.
All great tips! You are spot on about dads being better at putting kids to bed. Our first 2 kids (3rd is still nursing before bed.) would pull me back for question after question, book after book, hug after hug…but my husband was/is always able to read them a quick book, tuck them in with a hug and a kiss and that was it!