Behold the newest member of our family—the Summer deluxe handheld video monitor. Also known as the answer to every mommy's sleep training prayer.
Our transition to the big girl bed has been progressing rather slowly. Up until this week I hadn't quite realized just how strong-willed Madelyn really is. It's this particular trait in her that I hope will help her to not to be easily swayed by others as she grows up, but that also means she isn't easily swayed by me. Or her father. Which poses an interesting problem.
Matt and I quickly realized if we ever wanted to sleep through the night again we'd have to be a bit more structured in how we approached bed time. (Read: I had to stop letting her come in and sleep with me because I am a total sucker.)
So, last night we began bedtime boot camp. We read her books, said her prayers, rubbed her back for a few minutes, shut the door and left. And settled in to what became by far the most entertaining show I've seen all week (actually the only show I've seen all week). Madelyn proceeded to get out of bed, gather all of her books along with her menagerie of stuffed animals, and put them in bed with her. She even took her nightlight out of the wall and put that in bed with her too. Then she yelled at us, cried a little, got in bed, got out of bed, moved her toys around, sat in bed as though she'd run out of things to do, and about 45 minutes later finally laid down and went to sleep.
The best thing is, we could shut the door and watch her knowing she was 100% safe. Before, I'd sit at the door wondering if the large thump I'd just heard was a book she'd thrown or her head as she fell out of bed—if you can't tell I tend to assume the worst.
We still have a ways to go—last night she still woke up twice. We let her cry for 20 minutes or so then Matt went in, tucked her in, and she went right back to sleep. We're definitely still a bit sleep deprived, but we're getting there.
Our transition to the big girl bed has been progressing rather slowly. Up until this week I hadn't quite realized just how strong-willed Madelyn really is. It's this particular trait in her that I hope will help her to not to be easily swayed by others as she grows up, but that also means she isn't easily swayed by me. Or her father. Which poses an interesting problem.
Matt and I quickly realized if we ever wanted to sleep through the night again we'd have to be a bit more structured in how we approached bed time. (Read: I had to stop letting her come in and sleep with me because I am a total sucker.)
So, last night we began bedtime boot camp. We read her books, said her prayers, rubbed her back for a few minutes, shut the door and left. And settled in to what became by far the most entertaining show I've seen all week (actually the only show I've seen all week). Madelyn proceeded to get out of bed, gather all of her books along with her menagerie of stuffed animals, and put them in bed with her. She even took her nightlight out of the wall and put that in bed with her too. Then she yelled at us, cried a little, got in bed, got out of bed, moved her toys around, sat in bed as though she'd run out of things to do, and about 45 minutes later finally laid down and went to sleep.
The best thing is, we could shut the door and watch her knowing she was 100% safe. Before, I'd sit at the door wondering if the large thump I'd just heard was a book she'd thrown or her head as she fell out of bed—if you can't tell I tend to assume the worst.
We still have a ways to go—last night she still woke up twice. We let her cry for 20 minutes or so then Matt went in, tucked her in, and she went right back to sleep. We're definitely still a bit sleep deprived, but we're getting there.
And on a completely unrelated note, I've sworn for a while that there is a ghost living in our house and I'm pretty sure I saw him in that monitor last night. But that's another story for another day.
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