Over the past few months Alyce has added something new to her bed time routine, dreams. I'm not sure when it started but one night she asked us what she should dream about. Maybe in response to us saying "sweet dreams" to her as we walked out of her room one night.
Now every night before we walk out of the room Alyce asks us what she should dream about. Alyce is very discriminating about what she dreams about too. Sometimes when our recommendations aren't up to muster she says "I don't want to dream about that". So we have to keep recommending things until she fixates one one. Usually we use an upcoming event as a subject. For instance just over a week ago right before school started we recommended that Alyce dream about her first day of school. Some nights she has recommendations too. Her delivery is pretty cute too. It starts off with "Mom" then a thoughtful pause and then "can I dream about xyz?" With xyz typically being her asking if she can dream about going to Six Flags to slide on the pirate ship slide with her friend Gideon.
The mornings after I ask if she dreamed about whatever we talked about the night before. The usual response is "no". Who can determine what they dream about anyway and who even remembers most dreams? As long as she isn't having nightmares I think we are doing pretty good.
Showing posts with label Bed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bed. Show all posts
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Going To Bed Getting Easier
We are having great success in getting Alyce to sleep in her new room. I think she is getting over the fear of not being in her crib and having unlimited freedom. Last night it was up to me alone to get Alyce into bed and asleep. Mom was getting her hair cut during Alyce's bedtime. I was a little bit apprehensive since Mom had been handling most of the hardcore getting Alyce to sleep duties. Luckily my fears were unfounded. Alyce didn't get out of bed after I put her there and she fell asleep after only 4-5 minutes of crying.
So in the past three days we have gone from numerous times up and 90 minutes of crying to no times up and 5 minutes of crying. Not bad, not bad at all. I was hoping something like this would happen. I didn't really expect it to happen this quickly. Alyce is a pretty easy going child so once she got over her initial apprehension maybe she went with the flow.
So in the past three days we have gone from numerous times up and 90 minutes of crying to no times up and 5 minutes of crying. Not bad, not bad at all. I was hoping something like this would happen. I didn't really expect it to happen this quickly. Alyce is a pretty easy going child so once she got over her initial apprehension maybe she went with the flow.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Big Girl Bed: The Morning After
For the last bit of coverage relating to the trials and tribulations of the Big Girl Bed we have the morning. This morning started off like usual. I get up and go to work typically before Alyce wakes up. Typically Alyce wakes up a few minutes after I leave. Today was much different, Alyce slept until 8:30 where she usually gets up around 7:30. Usually when Alyce wakes up she asks for Mommy or myself until we go and get her. Instead, today she gets up around 8:30, gets out of bed, and closes the door to her room. Mommy went to check on her 15 minutes later to find Alyce sitting on her window seat playing with stuffed animals.
We'd be dreaming if thought we only had to endure one night of drama. Now that we know it is possible it is only a matter of time until we have a new routine to replace the old.
We'd be dreaming if thought we only had to endure one night of drama. Now that we know it is possible it is only a matter of time until we have a new routine to replace the old.
Big Girl Bed: The Aftermath
We survived Alyce's first night in her new room and I am happy to say that everyone made it through without any bumps or bruises.
In Alyce's room we have both her toddler bed and a full size bed. When I tried to put her down for the night I first put her into her toddler bed. She would only lay there if I read her a story. After the second book it was time for her to go to sleep. This is when the tears started. She pointed to the full size bed, I asked if she wanted to sleep there, and she nodded approval. So we go about moving into the big bed. I laid next to her to keep her quiet hoping that she would calm down enough to fall asleep. This kept her calm but not asleep until Mommy came to relieve me at 9:00. The tears started again.
Mom picked up where I left off; she tried to lay next to Alyce with the same results. After a time Mom decided to channel the Super Nanny as we were getting nowhere. Super Nanny, a show on ABC depicts the troubles parents have with themselves and their children with the Super Nanny coming in to provide expert advice. The bed time advice of the Super Nanny is to put the kid in bed, if the kid gets out, then keep putting them back in until they give up. On the show this can take upwards of two hours before the kids give up from pure exhaustion.
Mom pushed the big bed against the wall on two sides and put up railing on a third side leaving only the foot of the bed available for egress. Mom put Alyce in the bed with her baby doll, blanket, and pillows. Mom had to put her in bed again, and again. But on the third try Alyce stayed. She wasn't happy about it but she stayed and eventually fell asleep.
Things remained calm until 12:30 when Alyce woke up again asking for Mommy. Before Mommy could get out of bed and down the hall Alyce had already fallen back askeep. From that point on Alyce slept through the night into morning.
In Alyce's room we have both her toddler bed and a full size bed. When I tried to put her down for the night I first put her into her toddler bed. She would only lay there if I read her a story. After the second book it was time for her to go to sleep. This is when the tears started. She pointed to the full size bed, I asked if she wanted to sleep there, and she nodded approval. So we go about moving into the big bed. I laid next to her to keep her quiet hoping that she would calm down enough to fall asleep. This kept her calm but not asleep until Mommy came to relieve me at 9:00. The tears started again.
Mom picked up where I left off; she tried to lay next to Alyce with the same results. After a time Mom decided to channel the Super Nanny as we were getting nowhere. Super Nanny, a show on ABC depicts the troubles parents have with themselves and their children with the Super Nanny coming in to provide expert advice. The bed time advice of the Super Nanny is to put the kid in bed, if the kid gets out, then keep putting them back in until they give up. On the show this can take upwards of two hours before the kids give up from pure exhaustion.
Mom pushed the big bed against the wall on two sides and put up railing on a third side leaving only the foot of the bed available for egress. Mom put Alyce in the bed with her baby doll, blanket, and pillows. Mom had to put her in bed again, and again. But on the third try Alyce stayed. She wasn't happy about it but she stayed and eventually fell asleep.
Things remained calm until 12:30 when Alyce woke up again asking for Mommy. Before Mommy could get out of bed and down the hall Alyce had already fallen back askeep. From that point on Alyce slept through the night into morning.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Big Girl Bed: Finality
Tonight Mom and I are making a final stand on getting Alyce into a big girl bed. For the last few weeks we have been updating our front bedroom to be her new room. This weekend we finally finished her room and it is now time to get her out of the nursery.
To help ease the transition we threw Alyce a bye bye crib party. The point of this party was to get Alyce excited about her new room and provide an opportunity to say goodbye to her old room. Grams, Pa Pa, Jeff, and Liz all came over to celebrate plus they gave presents. We ordered pizza and cake and ice cream. Between dinner and desert we brought everyone upstairs for the symbolic moment where Alyce changed rooms. Mom had Alyce take her favorite stuffed animals from her crib and put them in her new room (extremely cute and sad). After that I disassembled her crib and it was moved downstairs. At first Alyce didn't seem to realize what was going on. She thought us taking down the bars off the crib was kind of cool. Once all of the pieces were gone she looked around and began to understand that gravity of the situation.
When bedtime approached things started to get interesting. I took Alyce upstairs to get ready for bed. She walked into her room, stood where her crib was, and burst into tears. She was wanting her crib and crying for me to "fix it". Let me tell you it tore me up to see her sad from something I did.
Coming soon the aftermath of Alyce's first night in a new room and bed.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Big Girl Bed
Tonight we tried to get Alyce into her toddler bed. I wouldn't call it a disaster as much as a learning experience. Mom put Alyce to bed and setup the baby gate over the entrance to her room. Mom came down while I was down here writing this post. About two minutes later we heard the creak of little baby feet on the floor. About then we hear from upstairs a cry for mommy and daddy. Apparently she wasn't as excited about her new bed as we thought she was. It seemed that she was scared of her new found freedom. I can't say I blame her. For the last two years of her life she has seen her sleep routine from behind cute little white bars.
So Mom and I figure we will try again in the future and maybe try a nap instead of bedtime. Eventually we are going to have to tough love Alyce into sleeping in her bed. I figure three nights before Christmas isn't a good time to unnecessarily mess with her routine.
In a few weeks or months I will look back at this post and wonder how I didn't think of x,y, and z. But that is the fun of documenting Alyce's development as well as my own.
So Mom and I figure we will try again in the future and maybe try a nap instead of bedtime. Eventually we are going to have to tough love Alyce into sleeping in her bed. I figure three nights before Christmas isn't a good time to unnecessarily mess with her routine.
In a few weeks or months I will look back at this post and wonder how I didn't think of x,y, and z. But that is the fun of documenting Alyce's development as well as my own.
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