Sleep makes for a better mom

As a mom I guess I should just be used to not sleeping very much but the past few months were ridiculous! Rebekah was waking up twice a night crying and moving around and making noise and Noah was waking up four or five times a night needing me to put him back in bed. Most of the time Noah was insisting I sing and cuddle him back to sleep. It's one thing to have an infant or young baby waking up at night needing to be feed or have a diaper change but when your children are 3yrs and 1yr you expect them to sleep better at night. I was so sleep deprived I was irritable all the time and not having the best patience with my sweet littles. It turned out Rebekah is just teething and needs some Tylenol and extra cuddles before bed. Noah however was more tough to figure out. Sean wanted to help out but Noah wouldn't have it. As much as Noah loves his daddy a little child just wants mommy when they need comfort. We tired so many things to help him sleep through the night. We put lavender on his feet, tried a warm bath, two night lights, sound machine, nothing was working. My sister in law Melissa called me one morning after a particularly hard night and gave me some great advice and support. She said there is nothing wrong with letting them cry it out and learn to self soothe. I know there are so many parenting methods and everyone thinks theirs is the correct one. I just think that each method works for different parents, children and families.

Sean and I basically did a mix of methods. We hate locking the door and listening to our kids cry. We just feel horrible. (Not that it's a horrible thing to do. It works great for some people and the children learn to sleep and are better for it) So we warned Noah that if he got out of his bed then we would have to lock the door and he wouldn't be let out until the next morning at six zero zero. He has a clock in his room and a sign that says 6:00 so he knows when its time to get up. We ended up having to lock the door three nights in a row and listening to him cry and scream the whole night on and off. He would finally fall asleep for a few hours and then wake up and realize he is still locked in and start crying again. Then after the three days he asked us to please not lock the door and he wouldn't get out of bed. We left the door open and he stayed in bed! He knows the consequences if he gets out of bed for a reason other than 1. bad dream and needs comfort, 2. needs to use the potty. He has been doing great ever since! We are loving being able to sleep more. Now just wait a few months til Abigail comes and we wont be sleeping again haha.

Oh well, such is life as a parent. We are exhausted but its so worth it. :)