I've finally got Madi sleeping in her bed, throughout the night (most of the time). The current behavior I'm trying to change is that I have to sing her to sleep. Sometimes this takes 5 minutes, sometimes this takes 30 minutes - it just depends on how tired she is. So I talked to her last night and tonight about going to sleep on her own. I also told her counselor and she talked to her about it today. I knew Madi was still not pleased with the idea so tonight I sang her 7 songs before even trying to leave. When I did try to leave she basically panicked and clung to me for dear life. I sang one more song and then the same thing happened when I tried to leave.
I tried everything y'all.
I tried the super nanny method of telling her what I expect, telling her I'm only going to tell her once, and then I did not say a word. I put her in her bed, walked out, put her back in her bed, repeat. I did this at least 10 times. Now, I know Super Nanny would have kept going until she couldn't walk anymore, but well, she's super. I'm not. I'm a tired mom who has worked all day, taken her child to dance, returned something at Kohl's, stopped at Publix, given her child a bath, and barely eaten dinner. So I proceeded with the typical "if you do not stay in your bed then..." I realize this is probably not effective at this point in the game. I was/am desperate.
I just bought her some new shoes tonight. I am not a fan of them at all but she HAD TO HAVE THEM. I told her before things got out of control that if she did not stay in her bed I would return the shoes. I even resorted to telling her I would cancel my plans tomorrow night meaning she would not spend the night at grandma's and I would be sure she went to bed right after dinner. Again, made no impression on her at the moment; however, I'm thinking it may be a good idea.
So I guess these are my questions to y'all -
- She is seriously in love with her new shoes. I've never seen her so excited about something. Do I have to return them since I said I would or can I simply take them away for a week?
- Should I stay home tomorrow night (my plans are a concert at the State Fair) in order to make sure she goes to bed early and to prove that I was serious? My thought here is that she truly needs some consistency on this bedtime thing. I'm thinking this might be a good idea even though it would stink for me. If I did stay home though she would also not get any tv for a week because this is causing me to change my plans.
- What can I do to help her go to bed by herself? She has music, a fan, and a night light already.
Thanks moms!
Help is appreciated!
