It’s nine am. AJ is at school, Joe at work and Lucina is home with me doing her thing – asking for snacks every few minutes. I am drinking some coffee. I’m starting to think I might have a coffee problem.
Sleep. It’s a thing that’s not talked a lot about outside of the newborn phase. Everyone always says “sleep while the baby sleeps.”
What about when that baby grows up and still struggles? I think parents need to talk about it more. It’s like an unspoken fact that all parents are tired.
When AJ was little, he slept so good. I was spoiled. I want to say he was about three months old when he started sleeping through the night. When he sleeps, he sleeps hard. Now – not so much.
Lucina on the other hand has never been a good sleeper. She has always been the lightest sleeper of the two.
It wasn’t until she was three months old that she was able to go to sleep not on mine or Joe’s chest. It was quite the adjustment.
I always thought maybe she’d be the heavy sleeper with AJ around to make noise from day one. Nope.
We actually got her a sound machine. Something I thought was so weird beforehand.
Now she can’t sleep without one. She still wakes once a night at two years old but it’s better than before.
When it’s bedtime for her, we grab that little $12 machine, put the rain sound on and leave it on all night.
We should probably invest in a plug in one though. We go through so many batteries for that thing. It does a good job blocking out AJ’s happy squeals from her room, so it’s worth it.
Let’s talk AJ and sleep regression. He was about four years old when it hit hard. AJ would wake up at crazy hours of the night/morning and be ready to go.
I now know that many individuals on the spectrum have a very hard time sleeping, staying asleep, or getting to sleep at all. Many even take medication.
AJ isn’t to the point where he needs medication, but we do give him melatonin on a very bad night.
As he grows, I learn more and more each day from families with older kids.
I don’t really know why, but can only assume it’s just his body adjusting and changing as he grows up. Some nights his little mind can’t shut off or go back to sleep from something small that wakes him.
From four to five years old he was waking at three am, going full blast with toys, sound books, jumping, kicking the walls, you name it. I mean, the kid was bored out his mind wondering why everyone was asleep.
One would think, well at least he will go to bed early that day right? Wrong.
During regression phases (two weeks to a month) he will stay up fighting until eleven pm. We put him to bed at seven-thirty.
Thankfully it comes and goes. It has phased off for a good while but last night he was up. He slept from eight to midnight, stayed awake until two-thirty and dozed back off. By six-thirty AJ was ready to start his Monday.
He got plenty of broken rest, but I still wish he could get his hours in one uninterrupted night.
How do I keep track? I still use a monitor in his room. It’s the only way I can keep tabs when he gets sick, gets into some trouble etc.
At one point – a few months ago – he was leaving his room and wandering the house getting into stuff. We now have a baby gate blocking entrance to the living room.
When it comes to night duty, that’s all me. Joe works and even though he wants to help, the man can’t hear the kids screaming even if the monitor is in his ear.
I usually let AJ stay in his room to try and self regulate, but that’s not always possible. On bad nights I have to bring him to our room so he doesn’t wake Lucina.
That girl is crabby if you wake her up. I can handle parenting early, what I can’t handle is a cranky Lucina lol.
I’m sure by tonight AJ is going to go right to bed and sleep until six am. The beginning of the school week always tires him out.
This may be me just hopeful talking but one can always hope!
I mean, who doesn’t get worn out going to school, work or whatever it may be after the weekend?
Let’s talk our bedtime tricks & tips.
The biggest trick and tip we use for bedtime is ROUTINE!
By seven pm both kids go potty, brush their teeth, get pjs on and are in bed by seven-thirty for AJ and eight for Lucina.
AJ has to get body slammed into bed (he loves WWE), say his prayers, have a sip of water and have his chosen books lined up in a specific order. If we don’t do this, he will be thrown off for the night.
Lucina gets to solo play before bed while we tuck AJ in. Her routine is the same minus the body slam and books. She needs her blanket, sound machine & stuffed puppy.
Both kids also sleep in their own rooms with a red light as their nightlight. Does it work? I have no clue but I try almost everything to keep them asleep lol.
My kids like it dark. If there is a hint of light, that’s the equivalent of the sun shining and birds chirping.
If your kid is waking easily, try a sound machine and red light; it has helped with both of my kids (aside from AJ’s regression phases).
To all my peeps and parents out there going off little sleep, I’m drinking a coffee for you!
Until next blog ❤
RAISING OPPOSITES 