Does your preschool age child sleep all night in their own bed?
My youngest is now 4 years old, and I never expected our sleep issues to last this long. When I hear about 5-month-old babies who are sleeping 8 hours straight, it's hard to believe that, often, I'm still getting woken up 1, 2 or 3 times a night. My 6 year old is usually pretty good with sleep, but my 4 year old needs much better habits and I need better sleep too. I finally decided it was time to make a change.
Last month, I wrote about sleep and fitness and how I want to be able to wake up for early morning work-outs. I've been doing really good with those early workouts, but, when you keep getting woken up night after night by kids who should be sleeping, it can be tough to stay motivated. I am serious about staying on the right track, so I decided to contact a local sleep specialist. Jessica Gleason, from BabySleepConsulting.com, came to the rescue!
Jessica and I emailed back and forth and then had a really nice phone consultation. I was actually a bit nervous about our conversation, but Jessica completely put me at ease. It was my first time speaking with her, but it was like talking to a long-time friend. She listened to me and came up with a long list of simple ideas for me to implement at home. Our goal is to get my son sleeping in his bed all night without the late night wakings.
So, it's been almost 2 weeks since we started working on our new sleep plan. Things are going very well. Our poor sleep habits have been many years in the making, so I didn't expect a complete transformation overnight. But, I can honestly say that since working with the plan Jessica developed for us, things have definitely been better. I've gotten more full nights of sleep that I have in a long time and I'm confident that, by using the plan she provided, we will finally get my son sleeping all night without waking up for me all the time. We can do this!
Do your kids still wake up in the middle of the night and come to get you? How do you handle it?
Be sure to follow Jessica on Facebook for helpful tips about getting your baby, toddler or child to sleep better. Also, if you're interested in learning more about Jessica's: Phone and Email Consultations, Sleep Plans, In-Home Consultations and Other Services, check out her website at BabySleepConsulting.com