Houston, we have a problem. Our champion of a sleeper, little Miss Abi, is having some issues with Mr. Sandman. I can feel the eyes rolling in my direction – for most of the wonderful 2 1/2 years of our lovey’s existence – she has been such a great sleeper. Long nights, full naps - “sleep life” was good, very good. But, then we introduced that silly toddler bed. I war between daily regretting that decision and then having to remind myself that it had to come sooner than later. Sooner in our case, because that crib is going to have a new resident in 2-ish months! That delightful sleep I was talking about? It’s not been so good.
Wonderful Donald gets up with her most nights (the multiple times we hear that little door open and the pitter patter of little feet down the hall into our room) so that preggo here doesn’t have to lift and then struggle to go back to sleep. What a man! But, he’s tired too! And we know that sleepless nights aren't that far away.
So, we started a reward system. A sticker for every time that she stayed in her bed until 3 for her naps, and a sticker for every time that she did not come out of her bed in the night – and that meant right after putting her down or in the middle of the night. Abi picked her treat – a “really big, special” sucker (you should hear her say that, it’s so darn cute), decided on the colors of the chart, and off we went!
Taking ownership of that chart down to the placement on the door!
I guess I forgot to take a picture of the completed chart, it is safely stored away in a memory box…that’ll probably be one that gets nominated to be recycled, but it seems so precious now!
Notice the half stickers – this was a change to keep her motivated during the night. If she stayed in bed during the “falling asleep” time, but awoke during the night – she still got a 1/2 sticker :)
The wonder of gummy ‘ABC’s’ ousted that really big, special sucker! Here she is after her last nap to complete her chart…love that bed head!
We’re now on reward chart #2. No credit for naps this time around. Only staying through the night earns you a sticker. Momma & Daddy are laying down the law! Her motivation this time is to go see a movie – she’s pretty stoked! We’ve sat at 4 stickers for about 1 weeks now…oh goodness.
1 comment:
So glad it's working! I was afraid you were going to have to lock the door from the outside, and that just feels wrong.... not matter how necessary it might become!
Post a Comment