"I'm not tired, I'm not sleepy, I don't want to go to bed, I don't need a nap". We hear these words from Kylie almost every single day. She refuses to go to bed by 9pm. Each time I've tried, we have had to guide her gently back to bed at least 20 times and in the end she ends up crying herself to sleep. Knowing that her little brain is actively processing at high speeds, I have relaxed the rules so that we can try to settle her in between 10pm and 11pm. By then we still have to guide her back to her room at least 10 times. On the weekends, she wakes up between 6am-7am all on her own. On the weekdays, it's not so easy as she normally doesn't want to get up and get dressed. Most kids we know LOVE to sleep, but nope not our girl. Today, Kylie had her swimming lessons which normally lasts 45 minutes, we went to the movies (we saw Ice Age), we did a little shopping around the mall, came home and she couldn't wait to color with her new highlighters. I set up my laptop, directly opposite where she was drawing and I was having normal conversation with Sean who was in the kitchen at the time. All of a sudden, there was complete silence with no one trying to interrupt our conversation and this is what we saw...
Notice that our little "lefty" still had the highlighter in her hand? I took full advantage of the fact that she was tired. I woke her up so that she can eat, watch a movie (Toy Story was on), tucked her into bed and read a book of her choice, "Cinderella". Yep, that 5 min. power nap gave her renewed energy. Anyway, she was finally out by 8pm and I'm enjoying a quiet evening sorting photos, digital scrapbooking stuff and of course blogging on a Saturday night - whoop, whoop!
6 comments:
Oh my, that is so precious. She is the Energizer Bunny that little one! Can't help noticing her expertise in the artistic department again. She's amazing!
I know what you mean. We have the same problem with both our kids. 9:30pm is our normal time. Sometimes just think Jeanne can have her kids in bed by 7:30 or 8:00 make me so jealous. I will just keep their day busy.. no sugar. Sugar gets mine girls pumped.
Judy - I SO enjoy your blog. So educational. GREAT pictures throughout. You all look GREAT and so happy. What a wonderful experience for you.
Suzanne Thompson
Judy, we are at the Cape now with the girls, sil's and our four darlings. We were out to dinner and Alex folded his hands on the table and immediately fell asleep. As soon as we get home I'll post the picture on my grandkids blog. Our connection here is very poor. Please post more. I love to see Kylie, and of course, you and Sean.
PS - Kristen'b birthday is today - we get to celebrate!!
Take care,
Barb
So cute! My girls are starting to refuse nap time but luckily still "go to bed" at 7:30 and fall asleep by 8. Whew! Those late nights must be killer for you! Enjoy your quiet time:)
May I share our 'system'?
We have always had good sleep routines with our two 'twin' daughters. We've found that the only time they have sleep problems is when they're overly tired so we are very careful to make sure they're in bed 10 to 11 hours before they need to be up. For us, that means an 8:30 bedtime. They have to stay in their rooms after bedtime and we encourage it by having the ability to lock them in (if they won't stay in there on their own). They each have quiet toys, books, etc that they're allowed to keep near their bed so bedtime is a happy time for everyone. This is the only bedtime ritual they've ever known so they don't give us any grief about it. Oh, and we NEVER let them sleep in as that just messes up the whole schedule and makes them less tired at bedtime.
It works perfectly for us so we're always excited to share it with others.
Donna
Our blog: Double Happiness!
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