Sleep Noah Sleep…

i wish he was this happy about his bed

It’s no secret, Noah has never been a sleeper. From day 1, he was an every 2 hours nurser and that trend has held strong for the last 2 years. Though he will do 4 hour stretches, and occasionally even longer, Noah likes to cuddle, he doesn’t know how to fall asleep on his own and like all 2 year old boys, he is testing his limits (and pushing me to the brink of insanity some days)!! And I am guilty of loving to snuggle and rock with my little man too.

sleeping "just pretend"

Before I got super sick, Noah was sleeping in his bed, in his room, at least half the night, if not 3/4 of the night. Eventually, Jason and I were too tired to deal with it, and just brought him to our bed. What we had going worked for us, and we all got some decent sleep. Then, when I got sick in the beginning of the pregnancy though, I was desperate for sleep and Noah and I napped together everyday, (2 hours instead of 30-60 min.) and co-slept every night. Basically undoing all the work we had previously done….sigh…..but again, for that moment it is what worked for us.

Anyway, with the new baby on the way, the thought of all 4 of us in my bed, awake every 2 hours, we decided it was time to get Noah into his own bed and into his own room, all night long. Not to mention the kid has become quite active in his sleep! Midnight kicks to the face and sleeping on the edge of a king
size bed was getting pretty old! So, I devised a plan!

We put Noah’s toddler bed in our room, next to the bed, we made a big deal out of it! I went to the $ store and filled a “prize bin” full of crap, made a kick ass sticker chart and a timer! We talked to Noah about being a “big boy” in his “big boy bed!” and about the new routine of, “holding hands” for 5 minutes until the timer went off. The first night was so sad. We talked about sleeping in his own bed, and he cried and cried just at the thought of it all. An hour later, in the bath, he remembered and looked at me so genuinely sad and said, “no sleep in noah’s big bed?!” It really reinforced my desire to do this before the new baby comes so Noah doesn’t see the baby as replacing him. He was so so so sad and my heart hurt!

With a little fight and a lot of tears, the first night was rough, all night long. The second night was easier and the third night was even easier. I think we even got a 7 hour stretch. First thing in the morning, he would say, “Noah gets a present!” We would get up, cover his sticker chart and then he would dig through the “present box.” He was so proud of himslef and I was soooo happy that it was going smooth.

here he is on day 3 with his "prize" and sticker chart!

After 4 days, the sticker chart lost its glory…he didn’t care. After 5 days, the presents lost their thunder, and were an after thought when he was bored. Overall though, he was going to bed without issue (though humming 2 songs got added to the 5 minute hand holding), and sleeping long stretches and going back to sleep quite easily! Then, he caught a cold.

“They” (who ever “they” are) say that an illness or big change can throw off any rhythm you have going with a kiddo (potty training, sleep training, whatever). Well, THEY are super fricking right.

not sure what possesed me to buy him a flute...that was fun!

Noah and his happy week of sleeping are now a daily nightmare and all night battle all over again. 😦 I have literally ended up in tears at least 4 times (which, sadly, usually results in Noah stopping his antics and quietly climbing back into bed on his own), and spend a good part of most nights duking it out with my son who has an iron will. We have resorted to time outs (which no longer work in this situation), screaming and yelling (again, pointless), and “ignoring” him, which is literally impossible to really do, he is super loud, but he gets no attention from Jason or I for periods of time, which is the only tactic that even kinda works!

after 5 days of sleeping in his own bed, he got a big big surprise!

So here we are, at a stand off with an insanely cute and insanely strong willed 2 year old…desperate times call for desperate measures…this coming weekend, his bed is going back to his room. The sticker chart will again make an appearance, and the gate will be installed at his bedroom door. I have been against the, “cry it out method” for a bajillion years, but sadly, nothing else has worked and we are at the end of the road. Though our version of “cry it out,” I’m sure will be tamer than the actual method, I foresee a lot of tears from both Noah and me for a few days and Jason will end up the human tissue! (thanks babe!)

Crossing my fingers and toes, and staying receptive to all the positive thoughts all of you readers are sending our way! Wish us luck and I will keep you posted!