Common Mom

Thanks to the best baby advice I ever received, my husband and I have enjoyed uninterrupted sleeping since our kids were very small . . . Jason was 10 weeks when he started sleeping through the night and Keira was 14 weeks. Our kids go to sleep anywhere thanks to our daily routine. That routine consists only of the following:

• Putting on jammies
• Reading a couple books
• Reading Reciting Goodnight Moon (who doesn’t know that one by heart!)
• Singing their song - You Are My Sunshine (really, what’s cuter than a 2, 3, 4 year old singing You Are My Sunshine!)

No matter what, these 4 things happen every time the kids go to bed - we even did it before naps when they were little (except for the PJs). Anything that happens before this (baths, games, etc.) is just part of the “day.” It’s actually quite amazing. They can be going a gazillion miles per hour through the entire time they put on their pajamas and we read books, but as soon as we do Goodnight Moon, they slow down and just hang out, getting their backs rubbed (or in Jason’s case, his feet tickled). Then they crawl into bed and we sing You Are My Sunshine. Goodnight hugs and kisses, a sleep well and have sweet dreams, and we’re out of their rooms, with lights out (except Jason - he’s allowed to stay up an extra 30 minutes if he reads, which he always does). We’ve been doing this exact same routine from the first day we brought each of them home. And it works EVERYWHERE - Grandma’s house, hotels, even on late airplane flights. I guess I’m figuring it works since both of our kids, who have very different personalities, respond the same way to it.

Moving on to the present, now we’re having a different kind of sleeping through the night issue. Keira (4) has decided to get up at 6:00 a.m. and come in to our room. Jason knows he’s not allowed to come in to our room until 7:00. Keira, however, thinks that if the little hand on her clock is even remotely close to the 7 that means she can come in by us. Um NO! So today I’m off to get her a digital alarm clock - that way she can actually SEE the #7 in the first position on the clock so there won’t be any more early rising. Keep your fingers crossed for me - I need that extra 30 minutes of sleep in the a.m.!

What’s your early rising child tip?