This week I have had to cut down on some of Bee's sleep. He has been waking up before the 7am mark, which is not allowed in this household. That being said, in my experience with training two star sleepers (Mommy-proclaimed), I knew immediately how to take action.
And I'm here to share with you just how to do that (imagine that, a sleep tutorial, have you ever heard of such a thing?). Sleep star? Let's talk about blog star, dishing out info on how to get your kids to sleep more? Unheard of. You're welcome. (wink)
So, let's get to work.
Firstly for baby book purposes (remember, I need this information for the next 4 kids we will be sleep training), I originally cut out one of Bee's naps, due to the fact that he was waking around 6:30am. He was an easy 2-1 nap transitioner, in fact, both kids were. Just distract and do what it takes to get them to at least 11:30am (that is with a wake-up time of 6:30am or later). They will make up for that lost nap in their one combined nap, to which he was napping approximately 3-4 hrs.
That being said, after his body adjusted, 3-4 hrs was too much sleep for him to still do 12 hrs at night. So, some shaving had to be done. It's imperative to us that our boys be in bed by 7:30pm so that Daddy Mock and I get some alone time. We do have family making to take care of, you know? I did just say that.
So if his bedtime remains the same and he's waking early, he must need to cut his nap. Done. I now wake Bee by 3pm (in bed by 12:15/12:30pm). He's been sleeping in until 7:30/8am. Nice. And since Kid has no problem with sleeping until it's lunch time, he gets his fair share as well (because remember, they do share a room, so if Bee's up at 7am, most likely Kid is as well).
That was a lot.
I don't know you or your kid's situation with sleep, but what I do know is that most parents are in dire need of help. I would love to help out. I am a part of a wonderful group of friends that all share similar sleep beliefs (chuckle, if you will, but it's serious stuff, I like my sleep!). I feel like through knowing them and their stories and relating them to my own, I've learned quite a lot about sleep training, a child's need for sleep, sleep patterns, sleep cues, all. things. sleep.
I would love it if you emailed me or left comments with questions on anything you need help with! I love helping people get sleep, it's the most amazing result anyone can ask for!
To end, I would like to share a few things on how important sleep is.
Some people aren't ever aware at the importance of sleep in infants until teenagers. It really affects health, wellness, mentality, emotions, etc. It starts very young.
Most kids need 10-12 hrs of sleep at night up until they are 12 years old!
Did you know that the following are all a result of lack of sleep in children?
-ADD/ADHD
-Anxiety
-Obesity
-Behavioral problems
-Learning disabilities
-Depression
This is because at as early as a week old, the body learns to make adrenaline for coping with being awake longer than the body can handle (for a one week old, that's about 30 mins). The accumulation of adrenaline builds up and causes a chemical imbalance that results in the above issues.
Amazing, isn't it?
When sleep training Kid, I learned about the importance of not letting my baby get overtired. Once he was overtired, he was very difficult to console, thus leading to less sleep and an even more overtired and sleep deprived child. The problem is that people don't take the time to research on how to fix it and end up with a baby that sadly has to make up for lost sleep through the production of adrenaline. Over tiredness is a cycle. When either of my boys would get overtired due to social activities or vacations where sleep wasn't perfect, they end up waking up early. When I say early, I mean in the 5:30am-6:30am bracket. If your child wakes in this time frame and doesn't get to bed before 7:30pm, most likely they are overtired. The solution to that problem is an earlier bedtime. I've put Kid and Bee down as early as 6pm just to get them back on track, and wouldn't you know that their day starts off at 7am? That's how much kids need sleep!
Very long post, indeed, but I am very passionate about kids and their need for sleep developmentally. I love helping others and like I said, the outcome is uninterrupted sleep for you, so where can you go wrong?
Feel free to email me, jodi@mockabee.com or leave a comment and I will try my best to help you find a solution.
Happy zzz's, my friends!