So, I just thought that I would post a little bit about my advice--and I am by no means an expert on this topic, but as a person who relies on a lot of sleep, I am happy to report that I have two babies that sleep through the night pretty consistently--which means I sleep through the night :)
1. Be consistent--when I was switching Kiley from two naps to one, I kept trying to alter her schedule so that I could continue to make playgroups, classes, etc. since we were one of the first to switch from two naps to one. I realized that it was not working for her, or for me because she was just confused as to when she should be sleeping. I finally had to make the decision that in order to get her on a good schedule, we were going to have to take a break from our playgroups and classes (or try to adjust the times that we took the classes) so that she could be down for her nap around the same time everyday. Now, with Ella, I am realizing that to get her on a good schedule, I too, must be consistent. She isn't as portable anymore which is kind of a bummer, but I would rather have a good sleeper than be able to get out of the house whenever I want, so I am starting to realize there is only a short window of time when I can get out to run errands, get to the gym, etc.
2. Start a nighttime routine early--with both Kiley and Ella I started them on a nighttime routine right around 6-8 weeks. Our routine consists of bath, dinner/bottle, brushing teeth, stories, and then lights out. We always do this, well we try to do this (sometimes it is a little different on the weekends), but for the most part this is the schedule. The schedule has had to be adjusted a little bit with trying to get two girls down, but once I change the routine I really try to stick with it. The other important thing about sticking with the routine is starting early. I know it sounds crazy, but we start our bedtime routine at 5. This gives me enough time to get both girls bathed and fed an in bed by 6 for Ella and 7:15-7:30ish for Kiley. It sounds early, but they both sleep about 11-12 hours at night and I would rather have that time to myself at night since I also go to bed early and have them up early since Kiley has to be at school by 8 two days a week.
3. They should nap at least 45 minutes-1 hour. I try to make sure that for their naps they sleep for at least 45 minutes. Granted, at first, this takes a lot of work with having to go back in restart music, give pacifier, etc, but any less than that is not considered a nap to me and they just wake up crabby so I have implemented a rule that during nap times they have to stay in their cribs for at least 45 minutes. If after 45 minutes, they haven't slept at all, then I get them up, but after a couple of days of "training" I realize that more often than not, they are down within just a few minutes and will sleep a pretty consistent amount of time each day.
4. Try not to nap on the go. I try really hard to make sure that naps occur in their cribs everyday. I think that this helps them understand that when they are in their cribs, it is time to sleep. I don't ever put them in their cribs for anything else. I know some people will put their kids in their cribs to play and such, I just never do, but I also think that it helps them to realize that cribs signal sleep.
5. If they wake up crying, they probably haven't slept enough. This is a hard one for me, but usually if they are crying when they wake up from a nap, then they probably haven't slept enough. I try to give them a few minutes before going to get them because a lot of times they will fall back to sleep if they are crying.
So, with that I have been trying to get Ella on a daytime nap schedule this week, so I haven't made it to the gym or done much else. Hopefully, we will be in a better routine by next week so that I can start figured out the best times to get out, but with everything else with kids, sleep routines take time.
Have a great weekend!!!
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