This might possibly be my last installment of what I have called "sleep wisdom". If this is the first one you've read, know that I understand I don't know it all. I've made a lot of mistakes, which is probably why I've dealt with so many sleep issues. These are just nuggets I've learned along the way. If you want to read more about our sleep issues, the most important sleep fix, nightmares, or early waking then jump on over there. I hope some of this helps you on your parenting journey! By the way, my parenting philosophies lie somewhere in between Dr. Sears and Dr. Weissbluth, leaning one way or another depending on the situation. I loved Elizabeth Pantley's books but they didn't work for us.
You all know what I am talking about when I say "night waking". There are VERY few parents out there who haven't dealt with a phase of night waking with their little ones. I'm not talking about babies who don't sleep through the night. I'm talking about 18 month olds, 3 year olds, 4.5 year olds... You know, those kids who SHOULD be sleeping all night, or at least be able to get themselves back to sleep. Do you have a kid who struggles with this? The most important things to remember are that
A) You are no longer dealing with a baby
B) Sleep is when your child's brain develops
C) Your sleep is important too.
D) Tantrums aren't O.K., even at night.
E) What works for others may not be good for your child, or you.
- Let Waker climb into your bed when she wakes and then sleep the rest of the night with you. We do this most of the time. We resort to this second method if night waking REALLY becomes a problem for us.
- Go to Waker, comfort Waker, say a prayer with Waker, tell her it is time to go back to sleep and leave her room. Do not return unless she gets up out of bed. In this case you'll need to tell her again that it is time to go back to sleep and put her in bed. If she does it again just put her in bed- no talking! I've done this for over an hour before in the middle of the night, a few times a night. It is maddening, absolutely miserable, but it works. If you have other children in the house that wake up because of the screaming then do what you can to comfort the others, but don't give in to Waker. Within a few days my Waker was sleeping in her bed all night again and finally rested and pleasant during the day. And I was once again rested and sane.
- Let the night waker sleep on a little bed on your floor. This worked for us for a while with one of our girls when she just wanted to be in the same room as us for comfort.
- Go to little Waker's room and crawl into bed with her. Not my favorite solution.
- Go to Waker, lie down with her until she falls asleep and then sneak out. My LEAST favorite option. Please don't do this, it can only lead to other, more menacing problems. I KNOW.