Come to Jesus Meeting

I can't believe its only been one week. Let me explain.

Last Sunday, Karlyn, Ryan and myself had a little "Come to Jesus Meeting." And it was long overdue. Anyone who knows us knows that Karlyn has had trouble sleeping in her own room (aka always sleeps in our room) since the night before her second birthday party when she climbed out of her crib.

We should have put our foot <feet?> down right then but for one reason or another...she was the "baby," we were going through another miscarriage, Ryan had to work late, I was working, on and on - it was just never a good time. Since then she has needed someone in her room to help her fall asleep at night AND she consistently came to our room in the middle of the night to sleep on our floor. I did draw the line somewhere and that line was out of our bed. Sometimes she still snuck in!

Anyways. Over the past few years, Ryan or I would get our game face on and say, "OK, enough is enough. You've got to sleep in your own bed and/or you have to learn to fall asleep without us." But it never clicked. Call it lack of discipline on our part or failure to follow through but here we were at five years and two months old and nothing had changed.

Enter: The Meeting. I called it to order last Sunday night and the three of camped out in our big family chair while the dog listened in. It went something like this.

Alright Karlyn, Daddy and I want to talk to you. This is long overdue and it's not your fault. It's ours. But you have to start sleeping in your room. And if you don't, there are going to be consequences. So here's what we're going to do. 

We're going to start a bedtime routine where you wind down before bed. (um, instead of watching daddy's phone until 10:30 and then, "it's time for bed!" So at the designated time, we will:

• Eat a snack
• Take a bath (with epsom salts - something the pediatrician recommended and what I use all the time!)
• Brush teeth
• Put on pajamas
• Slather on sleepy dust (magnesium lotion)
• Read in your bed with the lamp on
• Go to sleep

She cried a little, whined a little, and said, "I just don't think I can do it!" I don't know where she gets her drama from/not me. I think we started that night. I even really tried to talk it up like, "Isn't this great?! Isn't this so nice to have a routine where you wind down before bed instead of just watching a show?" She went along with it. score. Then, there was crying once we got to the in bed part but I came back in twice and told her she had to go to sleep. Then...she did. She came in our room in the middle of the night and Ryan took her back. 

The next night, there were no tears. And she went to sleep all on her own! She came in our room a few hours later and this time Ryan just told her to go get back in bed. She did. From there on out, she has been falling asleep in her bed after reading a book or two AND sleeping in her own bed all night!

Ya'll. This is huge! At least for us. And while I admit we should have implemented this a long time ago, at least we've done it now. Ya know. Before Kindergarten.

I think the whole "getting ready for bed" routine is really helpful for her + the addition of two magnesium sources. This mineral is HUGE for relaxation, sleepiness, and great for people with insomnia. Plus a warm bath before bed is going to raise your core temperature. Then, as it lowers you get sleepy. Ta Da!

Not having your face in electronics helps too. The whole blue light thing...So. I am thrilled as you can imagine and pretty darn proud of myself. I love my big girl and knew she had it in her, we just all had to convince ourselves. And - we aren't even having to do the entire routine every night. Because nights vary...like last night, we came home late after a family get together and she still fell asleep after pajamas, teeth brushed, and one book. I'm loving it.

So there you go. Maybe you can take something away from our little family lesson and nip bedtime in the bud sooner. Poor little Krosby. Sweet girl doesn't stand a chance. :-)