Getting the oldest to sleep...Part 3

Well, we are still on our journey of getting our almost 2 year old to sleep through the night again now that he is in his big bed.  Our two biggest challenges have been teething (he has been getting some of his molars) and his insecurity- needing to know mom or dad is nearby.  It is still taking 45 minutes to an hour to get him to sleep, despite our best efforts to wear him out.  We have our bedtime routine of brushing teeth, bath, milk while reading a book, and then to bed.  We are trying to do something calm the 10 minutes or so before bed to help settle him down, as he is just go, go, go when he is awake.  We will usually look at books, or he will watch some of "Panda" before brushing his teeth. 

Because he has never just fallen asleep very quickly and has always played in his bed before dozing off, I find it unfair to force him to lie there and fall asleep.  I have been letting him read books in bed to help him wind down a little.  Of course he is taking it steps further... he wants a new diaper, he needs more books (even though he literally already has 20 of them in his bed), he needs a drink, he needs more books, he needs his blankets spread out, he needs more books, he needs his blankets spread out... you get the idea!!  I warn him I will close the door if he gets out of bed to get more books... he starts to get out of bed, I close the door, he cries and cries.  So I open it and we try again.  He doesn't learn very quickly.  I know I should probably just leave the door closed until he falls asleep, and we may come to that sooner rather than later.  For now this is my method.  I was happy to learn though that all this is typical toddler behavior when it comes to bedtime, so I know I am not alone in this. 

Cael has been better about sleeping though the night lately- unfortunately through the night for him is until 4 am.  He may wake just briefly with a reassurance or two from Andy that he is near by and then is back to sleep.  However, it has been better the last week or so because one of his molars broke though.  While great for now, he still has more teeth to come.  So I know this won't be permanent.  Which is too bad.  I miss having my husband in bed next to me.  Andy continues to sleep in what will be Cason's room to hopefully catch Cael before he runs down to our room and wakes the baby- hasn't been 100% foolproof, however. 

I have finally pretty much finished the weighted blanket, which I plan to use to try to help keep him asleep.  It ended up being 4 pounds of weight- I was initially going for 5, but I would have to put more pockets in for that now.  It actually feels pretty heavy though, so will hopefully do the trick. It turned out pretty good for just winging it.  All I have left to do is finish the top seem.  But for now it is usable until I can get to it.  So here's hoping it works as planned!!!  To  be  continued....  again....

Getting the oldest to sleep Part 2

 It's been getting better....

Cael is still taking 40-60 minutes or more to get to sleep.  I am sitting outside his door, reassuring him that I am here.  It just takes awhile for him to wind down.  This was also the case when he was sleeping in his crib, however, so I'm not quite sure how to change that. 

He has been waking up fewer times the past few nights, which has been great for Andy- he can finally get some sleep.  My poor husband has been sleeping in what will be Cason's room, which is right next to Cael's room (right now Cason is in our room until I wean him from breastfeeding).  When he hears Cael wake up, he has been able to reassure Cael that he is there and he is ok.  Cael has been able to fall back to sleep fairly quickly, but at times will need a little longer reassurance.  But we are down to 2 wakings the past few nights versus the 4-5 the previous couple weeks.  Hopefully we are on the downhill slope and Andy can come back into our bed.  I miss laying next to him. 

I am making a weighted blanket for Cael, in hopes this will be a way to help him calm his body and stay asleep.  It has been difficult finding the time to work on it.  I'm hoping to get it done soon so he can start using it!  I'm curious if it will work.  But if it doesn't, I will be able to bring it to work for use in the classrooms!!  So either way, somebody will get use out of it!

To be continued....