I do the bedtime routine which goes something like this. Read 2-3 books, sing 3 songs, pray, hugs & kisses, and say our ‘good nights.’ This should only take about 15 min, but sometimes it can take up to 30 minutes. This is what usually happens. After I leave her room, I can hear her saying, “Mommy!” I go in and she’ll ask me to plug in her night light. I leave only to be called in again. This time she wants to know why she has a fire alarm in her room. Explanation can take up to 5 min. I leave hoping she won’t call me, but she does. She says she has to go pee, but she just went 10 min ago! My patience runs thin and I tell her that she cannot call me anymore and to go night night. She agrees. A few minutes later, she calls me again only to have me straighten out the corner of her blanket. I tell her this is my last time and not to call me anymore. She calls me again, I ignore her, and she falls asleep eventually. This happened every night and was seriously getting out of control.
So this is what I came up with. She has three babies she sleeps with. Her stuffed elephant, Annabelle (her baby), and Alex (another baby). I decided to tell her that I have to take away one of her babies if she calls me in after she’s supposed to go night night. She loves her babies, so I knew she would try her best. And guess what? It worked like a charm! She fell asleep like an angel without calling me once!
This is how our conversation went tonight.
R: Mom, can I have 5 jelly beans if I sleep really well and to the morning?
me: Yes, I will give you 5 jelly beans if you don’t call me in and if you sleep till the morning.
R: Ok mom. I will do my best. I’m gonna yawn RIGHT NOW! good night mom.
She fell asleep w/i minutes! Now, I just have to figure out how to help her sleep in a little bit longer. She’s been waking up at 5am every morning since the time change!!!!
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