Big Bedtime Success

So it's 6:39am and LR is still not awake yet. Daddy's still not awake either. The only reason I'm awake is because when I woke at 5:15, I was so excited that he was sleeping through that I couldn't get back to sleep. And I started thinking about baby names and then it was all over.

Daddy put him to sleep last night and he hasn't been out of bed since. *smile* This is the first time since we moved him from the crib to a big-boy-bed that he's slept through the night - and it's all thanks to our new bedtime routine. Frustrated with the hour long struggle to get him to sleep and knowing that the au pair and the twins are coming soon, I was trying to figure out an alternative. Daddy was convinced we'd need to lock his door and let him scream it out. I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I looked online for suggestions. On babycenter.com I found a little article describing how to put kids to bed without using fear. I think the line that interested me most was the one that described fear as having unpredictable results. Would he hate being in his room at any point during the day if we locked him in? Would he get angry and resentful around bedtime? Even though I knew it would "work," I didn't want to put any of us through that.

So the article went on to describe a bedtime game where he has to have his head on his pillow to receive a goodnight kiss and a tuck in. Then you leave the room. He obviously will follow and you have to turn around and take him back to bed. Then you act surprised that the bed is empty. Well in practice I had to alter the game slightly, but LR giggled his way through the routine 2 nights ago. He played sometimes and tried to figure out ways to get me to come back without having to get back in bed, but after and hour and a half at 10pm sharp, he fell asleep on his own. It was huge victory and he only woke once during the night. There was no screaming or crying and even though I was exhausted by the end, I knew we were headed the right direction.

Last night it took an hour instead of an hour and a half and LR was asleep by 9:15 instead of 10. I talked to a friend yesterday who was doing something similar with her 2 year-old and she said that after a week they could tuck him in and he would stay. The article also indicated that a week was all it would take. Crossing my fingers, but it's 7am now and he's still asleep...