Our Kids

So Jason and I are guilty of falling again into the parent trap. I think we fell in pretty good about a year ago when we started rocking the girls to sleep for no good reason and within 4-5 months our backs were killing us and we were wondering how we fell into this trap. Well it happened again, the same trap even! LOL! Recently we found ourselves going back into the girls room umpteen times and last night was the worst. Their bedtime dragged on for over 1.5 hours, they never get out of bed (thank goodness) but they do call to us. Needless to say by then I was frustrated enough to go to the garage and dig out our healthy sleep habits book. After reading just a few paragraphs I was overcome with the urge to say “ARGGHHHH”, how did this happen AGAIN!

Tonight armed with a new plan things went much, much better. First of all we got a digital clock with BIG numbers to put in their room. Then we went to the Discovery Store and bought a glow in the dark solar system mobile thingie and about 350 stars. Jason built and hung the solar system and most of the bigger stars and then I came in and put up the little teeny stars that give the ceiling depth. At 7PM we started getting the girls ready for bed and then from 7:11 to 7:30 PM we talked to them, sang to them, read to them and kept pointing out the clock and telling them when they saw a 7 – 3 and 0 then it was bed time. Every 5 min or so they would look at the clock and see that it did not say 7:30 and we would read or sing more. Then at 7:30 we turned out the lights and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star a couple times, told them the stars would keep them company and that it was time for bed. Phew! It worked (for tonight at least). It just goes to show that we need to guide them and show them in terms they can understand what bedtime is, when it happens and that mommy and daddy are serious about it. It is so easy to get sucked in to reading one more book, going to the potty, getting a drink and all the rest, it is only their nature but I guess that is why we are the parents and they are the cute, adorable, loving chitlens:)