Ahhh, Sleep!

It's been a long time since I talked about bedtime with the boys. I am beyond thrilled to tell you that we have FINALLY reached the point where the three of them (mostly) stay in their beds at bedtime and all night.

When we first moved them to big boy beds in May, it was sixteen kinds of crazy. CRAZY! That room was like a frat party out of control for two hours or more every night. We had to sit on top of them to get them to settle down, and even with us right there, they'd goof around until they earned a time out or were sent to the pack and play in our room for exile.

When we hit their third birthday, four months into this everlasting "transition," and were still dealing with shenanigans every night I thought I'd never be able to get rid of the pack and play in our room, even though they were almost too big for it.

Long about Thanksgiving, a full six months after we first moved them out of the cribs (which they were climbing out of anyway), they finally got the hang of bedtime.

At Christmas time, I took down the pack and play so we could move a chair and side table to our room to make way for the Christmas tree.

And I haven't had to put it back up. Yay!

We were pretty settled by Thanksgiving, but Isaac was still struggling to fall asleep at night. He was mostly good about hanging out quietly, but as soon as his brothers were asleep he'd start coming out of the room. Or worse, he'd go take his brothers' blankies or move their beds around and create his own brand of quiet chaos.

Then the miracle of melatonin came into our lives. It has made a world of difference for Isaac, and also for Amelia. Amelia falls asleep pretty well now, but when she was Isaac's age she followed the same pattern of spending up to two hours in bed awake. It was frustrating for the kids and for us!

Our pediatrician told us to try melatonin, and wow! What a difference! I think it helps them settle down enough to realize they are tired. We give it about 20-30 minutes before bedtime most nights. But we never give it at naptime, and the boys have gotten pretty good about laying down with a minimum of chaos and going to sleep. So maybe they really have learned?

Isaac still comes to our bed some nights to snuggle. But now it's more the exception than the rule, and it mostly happens when he's not feeling well. Since it's the exception, I can snuggle up with him and enjoy it. That was not the case when he was interrupting my sleep every night!

Of course, now that I've written this I've probably jinxed myself. But if you are struggling with kids who have trouble falling asleep, I highly recommend the miracle of melatonin!

© Trippin' Mama 2012