Ok ... seeking advice.
In an effort to cut down on the 5am wakings, I am seeking any and all tips for keeping your kid quiet in their crib!
We have two loveys (fondly named "Dee-dee") that are a great comfort, but, alas, do not encourage Girly to go back to sleep. As a side note, now that she has clearly declared her preference for two particular loveys, I am ordering a spare of each while I can still find them.
In just the last week, I've started putting a soft book in her crib when I go in to check on her before I head to bed. The first early morning I think it distracted her a bit, but not so sure that it does anymore.
When is a pillow OK in the crib? She is still so wiggly and spins around in her crib all night, so she doesn't sleep with a large blanket. I can't imagine a pillow would really make much difference, but I've read testimonials elsewhere and I'm desperate, people.
In case you were wondering, the black out shades don't seem to be doing diddly squat. I'm glad I didn't invest in real shades. We've been using the ghetto fleece blankets tucked around the shades, just like frat days.
What are your thoughts on a special alarm clock that signals your kid when it is OK to wake up? There are several versions out there ... this Kid'Sleep version looks cute. I'm pretty sure she is too young at 16 months to comprehend, but I think she is smart and I also think a $40 investment in my future sanity could be warranted. If I just knew that there might be an end to the 5am wakings (before she is 17), I might deal better.
I realize that the lowest tech solution would be to let her cry in her crib until the appropriate wake-up time. Let me tell you that this is not working. We have been doing that for at least 2 weeks and she is still up 5-6 nights out of 7 at about 5:20am, and the remaining nights it might be 5:45am. It is a sad day when sleeping until 6:30am sounds like heaven.
I fear we may just have an early riser and we'll just have to get used to it for the time being. If there is an alternative solution, though, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
9 comments:
Hi there! Too fun that you ran across my blog and Ali's wedding! I was a Chi O too!!! Go Frogs!
Happy Spring!
Anne Potter
What about pushing back her bed time? What time is she going to bed now? What about giving her some milk, while still in the bed, and seeing if it makes her go back to bed? I would give her a small pillow and see what happens there.
I agree with trying the pillow and pushing bedtime back a bit. I can't see those things making it any worse, right?!
I agree about the bedtime. She generally goes to bed at 6:30. We tried moving it to 7 a few weeks ago, but she will still getting up early, so we switched back. I think it is worth more of an effort, though.
What if she turns into one of those kids that is ready EARLY before school & actually has time to go outside to play before she needs to walk to school???
I never understood those kids.
Maybe Mom would know, but I think I was in PM Kindergarten was because I wasn't capable of getting up early.
Maybe that's why I need 3 alarm clocks & hit snooze on every. single. one. of them ... multiple times!
I can't remember the reasoning behind it but there is something about putting her to bed earlier may make her sleep later...ask Andrea. I'm pretty sure N had the same issue.
Tried a big-screen yet?
I read the tip on putting baby to bed earlier in a book at your house Molls. It worked for us, but I don't see how you can go to bed much earlier. We would go in give some milk, turn on his night-night music and rub his back for a minute and then walk out. Sounds like you may have tried that already. Sorry, I'm all out of ideas.
My sister-in-law bought a stuffed pelican (random, I realize) that attaches to the crib and has little stuffed toys to drop in his mouth. We recently put it in Will's crib, and possibly it entertains him in the morning?? It's either that or the soft book. It really only buys us 15 min., but it's better than nothing. I have another friend who can get their child back to sleep with a bottle. We also have a white noise CD that we turn on for bedtime and naps. I think it helps Will understand it's time to sleep. I've seen the alarm clocks and think they're a great idea! Keep me posted.
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