Oh my goodness! If you ask any mom of young children what the hardest part of the day is, you'll very likely to hear an issue or two about sleep. And it's a different problem depending on their age. When they're infants it's sleeping, period. When they're a little older it's about schedules and such. Around a year it's about whether to go down to one nap or stay at two and so on.
Well, Lizzy is 18 months old and the issue right now is falling asleep, especially at nap time. We're already down to one a day (since she was about one, unfortunately) and now she's fighting that one, hard. You can't understand the frustration of trying to make a little person go to sleep unless you've actually been there. There's been many a time I could just scream in frustration. Lately, she likes to standup and talk and sing and shake her crib so it hits the wall. I lay her down and she pops back up as soon as I leave. I've given her milk, tried differing nap times, waited it out, yelled at her, smooth her hair and talked softly to her. You name it, I've tried it. I even searched this problem online for solutions without much luck.
Why stress about naptime so much, you ask? Well, firstly, she's still tired. She needs to sleep. Then there's the obvious reason: I need a break! One day, she stayed awake, in her crib, from 2-4PM in the afternoon despite me laying her down several times. I won't even tell you what that evening was like. Oy.
Then, at long last, I found the answer. I layed her down on her stomache, put my hand on her back and silently stood next to the crib. Anytime she'd talk, I'd lightly tap or flick her cheek (not enough to hurt), just enough to let her know it wasn't time for talking. Miraculously, she fell asleep in a few minutes! Aha! At last, I've found the secret trick that'll work, at least for now. One thing I've learned from motherhood: You have to be creative and it changes rapidly. What worked last week, probably won't work this week, but what does work will often surprise you, varies from child to child and is often something you won't find in a childcare book! :) How's that for real, down and dirty, in the thick of it parenting? Don't be afraid to try ANY thing (within reason and wisdom, of course). How about you? Any interesting little mommy tricks you've learned?
Monday, March 16, 2009
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2 comments:
Sometimes when my son refuses to go to bed , I leave him on the floor playing with his toys , I turn off the light and just leave him there rather than hear him cry.
hehee, good job janeen! and it is true that one thing works for now, and now later, and one thing for one child and not the other! i pray libbey will get the smooth hang of it. i know the frusttration of the battle you are going through...boy do i know it!
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