Let me first say that I have nothing against co-sleeping. I know lots of parents who co-sleep with their children and I do think it has it's benefits, but for David and me, we decided that this was not something we wanted to do. We started off really well when Samantha was born. We always placed her in her crib at night. I'll be honest, there were a few nights in the beginning where I fell asleep while feeding her, but once I woke up, I took her right to bed.
Anyway, by about 6 months, when most babies were sleeping through the night, Sammie girl was still up 2 or 3 times a night. So, by that third time, I was so tired and in the bed she went. My rule was that it had to be after 5:00am though, because technically, that was the next day...I mean, it would not be crazy for me to get up and start the day at that time right? Anyway, this lasted until about 17 months, when she finally started sleeping through the night. Then at 18 months, the night terrors started and she was back in our bed. At 22 months, she went into her toddler bed and at 24 months, she learned that she could get out of her toddler bed and crawl into our bed. This was also the time when I was pregnant and really tired, so needless to say, we let her stay in our bed. At 27 months, she was potty trained which meant she started waking up at night to go potty and then would just crawl in our bed. And at 29 months, Caleb was born and well, we were trying to get all the sleep we could, so if that meant she was in our bed at 2am, that's what happened.
And now almost a year and a half later, Caleb has been sleeping in his bed all night since birth and Sammie still sneaks in to our room. We have tried just about everything.
Bribing her with toys and candy
telling her she can't go somewhere because she didn't sleep in her bed
taking her back to her room as she screams and yells
waiting until she falls back to sleep and then taking her in her room, only to have her wake up and back in our bed within an hour
sticker charts, which we have had hanging on our refrigerator for 5 months with 4 stickers on it
The list goes on and on...
So, a little over a week ago, I was up with my babes at the crack of dawn, because they apparently like to see the sun rise, and Sammie asks to watch tv. I turn on her show and say something about how Caleb sleeps in his own room all night and he should watch his shows first. I think I just said it because I was tired and tired of watching the same My Little Pony for the 100th time. I forgot all about saying it as the day went on.
That night, the kids went to sleep and at 2:00am, once again, Sammie woke up to go potty. I took her to the bathroom and then started back to my bed, knowing she was right behind me. She says, "Mommy, can you lay with me in my bed for a minute?" I was confused, but was not going to fight this.
The crack of dawn came around again and Caleb woke me up with a yell. I took him to the living room and we sat in the dark. I was hoping he'd fall back to sleep, but I knew it was just wishful thinking. 15 minutes later, Sammie girl walked out with the biggest smile on her face and said "Good Morning Mommy!! I slept in my own bed last night!" I told her I was proud of her and she replied, "Now, can you turn on my show first and not Caleb's?" Yup, that's right, my little comment the day before totally got to her! It has been more than a week and there has been no one in our bed kicking us, pinching us, pushing us off the bed. It has been wonderful!!!
Three and a half years of trying and nothing has worked until now. How simple was that??
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