Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Storytime with Daddy

We think that it is really important that Makayla be read to everyday. Right now Nathan is reading from My First Bedtime Bible to her every night at bedtime. I don't know what he will choose to read when he finishes this book. We have integrated this into Makayla's daily routine.

Makayla's bedtime routine is as follows:
6:30 Bathtime
6:45 Lotion, Massage, medicine, PJ's
7:00 Storytime with Dad
7:15 Nurse
7:30 Night, Night for Makayla

(Yes, she really does go to bed that early. She is READY for bed at this time. If we put her down later, the entire night will be a nightmare. Well, Not really. From what I remember, sleep is a requirement for nightmares.)

She sleeps much better since starting this routine. I read that the bedtime routine needs to be an hour long to help the baby get very relaxed for bedtime. It has worked for us! We are believers. The book is called the No Cry Sleep Solution. We started using the info 2 weekends ago, and Makayla slept through the night Saturday night for the first time in a long time (over a month). I mean really slept through the night not just like 5-6 hours which some people consider sleeping through the night. I don't consider that sleeping through the night for an infant or anyone else. The book said that within 10 days 42% of the people in the test groups had already had success. I totally believe that! We also got the Ocean Wonders Aquarium that has lights, a motorized fish, and music or noises . I am often able to stand outside her room at night and turn it on with the remote, and she will fall asleep within 10 minutes. I know! This toy actually has a remote control which is very handy for Mommy's like me who absolutely can not show their face in their little one's room after bedtime if the goal is to get the baby to go back to sleep.

I highly recommend that anyone having sleep issues buy this book. She has not consistently slept through the night since January, so we hope that we can have consistent results from this system, so far all has been good. I am pretty sure that we will because our nights have been getting a little better every night even while she was sick. She has only had one night that she didn't sleep though the night since Saturday. I don't really think that night should count though because she had 2 poopie diapers due to the prunes that I knew better than to give her with her supper that evening.

1 comment:

Katy Hill said...

Glad to hear Makayla is sleeping better-and happy to hear you are getting more sleep! Sounds like a good bedtime routine.

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