The one quality that our daughter has which fits me perfectly (and always has...) is that she can be a nightowl --- she would prefer to stay up late vs. crawling into bed and going to sleep. Plus she loves to sleep in which means she's a true Deary through and through.
Around 8pm each night, after bathtime and reading books, we start turning all the lights off in the house (except maybe the TV) as Kristina snuggles into Jon's or my chest before going to bed. Lately, she's been falling asleep more and more on us which makes it very easy to just place her in her bed and wha-la...she's down for the count.
Tonight, we got home late due to car trouble when we were at Laura and Chris' house (sorry guys -- a 5-minute visit turned into a 4-hour howdy-do!). Around 9:45pm, I was in the living room gathering up all of Kristina's baby's toys and I heard her go towards Jon who was working on the bathtub faucets. Figuring she was just supervising his work and trying to fix the faucets herself, I didn't check on her.
Ten minutes later, Jon came out and signaled me to see her. Our angel was there, in her own bed, sound asleep. This is not only the first time she has initiated going to bed on her own, but it is the first time she has gone to sleep alone without the company of either me, Jon, a grandparent, a classmate at school during naptime, an orphanage caregiver, or a slew of other little children at her side. This is a big deal!
Going to sleep has always been one of our challenges since coming home last year. And if it's our greatest challenge, then we know how lucky we are. We have some friends who adopted a little boy shortly before we brought Kristina home (who was in Kristina's grupa as well!) and they have the same experience. If I try to leave the room before Kristina has fallen asleep, then she will cry or follow me out, over and over again. For a short period of time last year, the Super Nanny trick (of placing her in bed and slowly inching our way out the door) worked. But I stress, it only worked for a short period of time. I swear Kristina falls asleep with one eye open...just to make sure I'm still there!
Around 8pm each night, after bathtime and reading books, we start turning all the lights off in the house (except maybe the TV) as Kristina snuggles into Jon's or my chest before going to bed. Lately, she's been falling asleep more and more on us which makes it very easy to just place her in her bed and wha-la...she's down for the count.
Tonight, we got home late due to car trouble when we were at Laura and Chris' house (sorry guys -- a 5-minute visit turned into a 4-hour howdy-do!). Around 9:45pm, I was in the living room gathering up all of Kristina's baby's toys and I heard her go towards Jon who was working on the bathtub faucets. Figuring she was just supervising his work and trying to fix the faucets herself, I didn't check on her.
Ten minutes later, Jon came out and signaled me to see her. Our angel was there, in her own bed, sound asleep. This is not only the first time she has initiated going to bed on her own, but it is the first time she has gone to sleep alone without the company of either me, Jon, a grandparent, a classmate at school during naptime, an orphanage caregiver, or a slew of other little children at her side. This is a big deal!
Going to sleep has always been one of our challenges since coming home last year. And if it's our greatest challenge, then we know how lucky we are. We have some friends who adopted a little boy shortly before we brought Kristina home (who was in Kristina's grupa as well!) and they have the same experience. If I try to leave the room before Kristina has fallen asleep, then she will cry or follow me out, over and over again. For a short period of time last year, the Super Nanny trick (of placing her in bed and slowly inching our way out the door) worked. But I stress, it only worked for a short period of time. I swear Kristina falls asleep with one eye open...just to make sure I'm still there!
Recently, I started letting her fall asleep on our bed and then moving her when she's sound asleep. But there are many times Jon and I just love having her there between us ~ so we just let her stay. We figure she'll grow out of this soon so we'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Next step: Moving into a big-girl bed. She's still in the crib-converted-to-a-toddler bed. The big-girl bed is in the garage and will be one of our many projects this summer. Perhaps having a big-girl bed will encourage more of the going to bed on her own. Yeah...I can dream!
Sound asleep amongst the company of her favorite babies and toys.
6 comments:
Good Job Kristina! Great to hear! Love those firsts!
Yay Kristina! That is a milestone! :) She's such a love!
Wow! What a big girl. Colby is also a nightowl. We start around 8 but he's not usually asleep until almost 9. Thankfully he has started falling asleep without us in the room. Poor Mike was sleeping on his floor for a little while! And yesterday he didn't wake up until 8:45. I love it! My kid through and through!
Melissa
That is great! I'm sure she will find millions of ways to amaze you and make you proud :)
Yay for another first!
gina
congratulations!
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