About a year ago, we started putting Jonah and Cora in the same room at night. We knew we wanted them to share eventually, and it worked out well to do it then because Cora had been having a tough time falling asleep at night - she would often get really sad as soon as we left the room, and take a long time to settle down. But with Jonah in the same room, she was much more calm. Often, they would chat or giggle for a few minutes, then both fall asleep. I could be sugar coating my memories, but that arrangement worked well for everyone for several months.
But then we started all our traveling in May. Neither of our kids sleep well away from home. And around that time, Cora dropped her morning nap and needed to go to bed earlier than Jonah. It stopped working so well to have them in the same room. Every time we traveled, the kids' sleep got all messed up, and so we started putting Jonah in the guest room for a few nights each time we got home from a trip, until everyone adjusted to being back home. Eventually, we stopped moving him back into the kids' room, and he just slept in the guest room every night.
Also during this time, Brandon was working inpatient for a month (leaving for work before 5 each morning), and I was first-trimester pregnant (blah), and Jonah got into a habit of waking at 5:15 and coming into our room. I was so exhausted, I would usually hand over my phone and let him crawl into our bed and watch videos. Not my proudest parenting moment. I just didn't have the energy to battle with Jonah to go back to his own bed.
Suffice it to say, Brandon put a quick stop to this habit once his rotation finished and he no longer had to leave for work before 5. But Jonah was still waking around 5:15, and we could not get him to stay in his room. No way did I want Jonah to start waking Cora at 5:15, so we left him in the guest room.
(This post has gotten so long and full of pointless details, I think we have crossed over from posting for interested friends and family into recording for my own memory.)
Looking down the road, we knew we would eventually need the guest room to be a nursery again, so we needed to figure out how to get Jonah and Cora back in the same room. But first, we needed to figure out how to get Jonah to stop waking at 5;15!! Our elegant solution involves a nightlight, plugged into a special wifi-enabled device that I can control with an app on my phone! This means, I can turn the nightlight on and off whenever I want! We taught Jonah that he needs to stay in his room until the light turns on each morning - which he did, remarkably - and eventually he stopped waking so early. I guess he just needed something to force him to stay in bed. Now he typically wakes between 6:30 and 7, but even when he wakes, he stays in his room. It is not an exaggeration to say that this has completely changed my life! I can now wake before my kids and have a few moments of quiet AND actually get some things done before the chaos of the day begins - without having to wake at 4:30 in order to do this. OR I can stay in bed until 7 or 7:30 if I'm feeling lazy :)
Well, two weeks ago, we made the switch and started putting Jonah to bed back in the kids' room. (Because why not change things up the week before Daylight Saving Time??). And it has gone remarkably well, even with the time change. The kids fall asleep pretty quickly, and I think Cora enjoys having Jonah back in her room. Jonah typically wakes before Cora, but stays in his bed - and mostly quiet. I would say Cora is probably waking a little earlier than she normally would, with the extra noise - but overall, it has been a great success. A huge relief. One step closer to preparing for the baby. Next, we will work on getting Cora out of the crib and into a bed :)
One step at a time.
(This post has gotten so long and full of pointless details, I think we have crossed over from posting for interested friends and family into recording for my own memory.)
Looking down the road, we knew we would eventually need the guest room to be a nursery again, so we needed to figure out how to get Jonah and Cora back in the same room. But first, we needed to figure out how to get Jonah to stop waking at 5;15!! Our elegant solution involves a nightlight, plugged into a special wifi-enabled device that I can control with an app on my phone! This means, I can turn the nightlight on and off whenever I want! We taught Jonah that he needs to stay in his room until the light turns on each morning - which he did, remarkably - and eventually he stopped waking so early. I guess he just needed something to force him to stay in bed. Now he typically wakes between 6:30 and 7, but even when he wakes, he stays in his room. It is not an exaggeration to say that this has completely changed my life! I can now wake before my kids and have a few moments of quiet AND actually get some things done before the chaos of the day begins - without having to wake at 4:30 in order to do this. OR I can stay in bed until 7 or 7:30 if I'm feeling lazy :)
Well, two weeks ago, we made the switch and started putting Jonah to bed back in the kids' room. (Because why not change things up the week before Daylight Saving Time??). And it has gone remarkably well, even with the time change. The kids fall asleep pretty quickly, and I think Cora enjoys having Jonah back in her room. Jonah typically wakes before Cora, but stays in his bed - and mostly quiet. I would say Cora is probably waking a little earlier than she normally would, with the extra noise - but overall, it has been a great success. A huge relief. One step closer to preparing for the baby. Next, we will work on getting Cora out of the crib and into a bed :)
One step at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment