Four Feet More

Since we brought the kids home from Russia, we've been dealing with sleep issues. For the first few weeks, it was Vika waking up frequently with night terrors. Then we went through a period of Eamon waking up three or four times a night and coming into our room to make sure we were still there. And throughout our entire 7 months home, getting the kids to go to sleep has been a frustrating process, to say the least. However, at long last, we are having some success! Thanks to suggestions from a poster on the Daily Parenting Reflections Yahoo group, Jeff and I have come up with a new bedtime routine which actually seems to be working! It includes us taking turns tucking in Vika and Eamon, where one of us "starts" one kid and then "finishes" the other. We play some focus games, read a story, and finish off with the "5 Sleep Rules." These are as follows: 1. Your head is on your pillow. 2. No talking. 3. Shut down your brain like a computer. 4. Get into a comfy position (and stop moving). 5. Close your eyes. Then, after a few back rubs, we turn on a CD of music (mostly movie scores I downloaded from iTunes), and leave the kids to it. For the past 5 nights in a row, they have gone to sleep without any playing, crying, or getting up out of bed (which used to occur multiple times a night). And last night, they were both asleep within 10 minutes of us leaving their rooms! This may not seem like much, but in our household, this is a MAJOR achievement! So, here's a little pat on the back for Jeff and I. Let's hope this routine keeps working and that there are many more restful nights ahead for our family.