It's been a while since I gave an update on the toddler bedtime situation, so I figured it is about time, because believe me, the challenge isn't over!
We kept to our routine for a while, but then, I honestly don't know how it happens, once again we found ourselves with Steven's bedtime routine in shambles. (I blame the second law of thermodynamics.) It got to a point where it was taking hours to get him to fall asleep, and once again we knew that we had to choose something and stick to it if we ever wanted things to get better.
We decided to change things a little bit from what we tried before. This time we keep his door open and one of us sits on a chair by the open door where we can watch him. When he tries to climb out we can intercept him sooner, and being able to see us seemed to encourage him to stay in bed.
We've been trying this for a couple weeks now. At first it worked really well. Unfortunately the novelty wore off after a while and once again he started trying to climb out of bed every five seconds or so. At least, that's what he does for me. He behaves a bit better for Daddy. But at least it generally doesn't take much more than an hour for him to fall asleep. So overall we consider it a success.
I have also started watching at the door for his nap time too, and it works about as well as it does for bedtime.
It's still not a perfect method by any means. Sometimes Steven refuses to sleep for over three hours, and sometimes I get very upset when he keeps trying to get out of bed. If I'm home alone with the kids and Kenneth needs attention at the same time it gets a little challenging. Usually I will plop Kenneth in his crib with a bunch of toys and hope he stays entertained long enough that he won't start crying.
One day bedtimes won't feel like an endless struggle... right?
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