With Mommy away, I’ve been holding down the fort by myself with Leilani. Things have gone pretty well, especially with regards to getting Leilani to sleep. With Mommy gone, it’s the perfect time to move her into her own bed permanently.
A month ago, I decided the crib converted to a toddler bed was still a crib, so if we wanted Leilani to move out of our bed, we had to give her a big bed like her friends have. We found one for her on Craigslist, it’s cheap plywood but it works for now. Here’s a picture from today, with her napping while I write this:
On the Monday after the party, she napped at Joy’s (all the kids just go into the nap room and sleep together, no fussing!), so the big test was in the evening. She had slept the previous night without her pull-up diaper because she fell asleep in the car. Then I had put her in our bed without thinking about it. This night I wanted her to sleep in her own bed, and I had been emphasizing this point by saying she was a big girl now and had her own big bed.
So when I went to dress her in pull-up and pajamas on Monday, she said she didn’t want the pull-up anymore. I was more than happy to oblige, since she keeps them dry unless she plays too long in the morning before going to the bathroom. She didn’t say it, but it’s clear to her that big girls sleep in underwear and pajamas. So no pull-ups ever since.
For now I figure sleeping in her own bed is the big step, so I still lay down with her until she (or both of us) falls asleep. She still resists going to bed as much as she can, asking for more stories and songs, and tossing and turning before settling down. I read 2 books, then turned off the light and told her the story of Snow White, then sang 2 or 3 songs. Sometimes I think she doesn’t fall asleep so much as stop trying to keep herself awake and letting the tiredness take over.
I was half expecting her to come into my bed in the middle of the night, but we had already been training her to staying there all night. For the past weeks she fell asleep in our bed, and we’d carry her over. We rewarded her if she stayed and woke up in her own bed, a small coloring book or puzzle. So last Monday night July 14, she fell asleep AND woke up in her own bed for the first time that I remember. I gave her two gecko temporary tattoos that I’d picked up at the toy store, and I made sure to tell everyone how proud I was of her where she could hear.
And she’s done it every night since then. It is sometimes more or less of a struggle to get her into bed, but she eventually falls asleep and stays there until morning. The reward is now a few small pieces of chocolate, which she loves.
Tuesday was 5pm potluck, and since she slept in and I didn’t want her to nap late, we skipped the nap. Wednesday, she napped at Joy’s again, and so Thursday was my first time putting her down to nap alone. This proved to be one level harder than nighttime, maybe because there is less routine and predictability. I usually declare it’s nap time after lunch when she gets cranky–I can tell because anything that frustrates her makes her cry.
Unfortunately, nothing frustrates her more than going to sleep. So even after I’ve read her a book or two, she squirms in bed and eventually wants to get out. I hold her gently in bed and this provokes a mini-tantrum, because she tries to get out. This usually ends in a short time-out, and when she says she is better, she lays down with me again and sleeps this time. Yesterday, I discovered that playing her CD of children’s songs helps calm her down and get settled. By the way, it’s the LP “Puff the Magic Dragon” by the Richard Wolfe Children’s Chorus I had as a child and that friends of Grandma and Grandpa converted to CD for Leilani.
Hopefully, as she learns how to go to sleep, it will all become a habit and there won’t be any tantrums. Then we probably don’t need to lay down next to her each time.