What a difference healthy sleep can make!

Amazing sleep resource!

       For anyone out there with young children, take note of this amazing sleep resource! Friends of ours, who are parents of 4, suggested this book to us when we were pregnant with Cohen, and it proved to work for for him in that crucial first year of continuous change. And recently, we have found it proved successful yet again!

       The arrival of Baby Brother, "graduation" to the big boy bed, and recent potty training seemed to take a toll on Cohen's little heart. I was about to pull my hair out this past week as Cohen took zero naps and made crabbiness seem like a dream! He was waking up extra early in the morning, not napping in the afternoon, hitting little Aiden, biting, scratching, hitting, and screaming at me, being difficult going to bed, and night-waking. 

       After a time of intense intercession, crying out to the Lord to help us and give us wisdom to shepherd our three-year-old handful, Tyler remembered the book. In any other case this would mean the Bible, but in the realm of sleep, we mean this incredible sleep manual called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. This time, though, we turned straight to the toddler section, and with eyes peeled, we read on. 

       We started sleep training on Friday night, and here on our third night, we can confidently say that Dr. Weissbluth has yet to let us down! We are proud to say that Cohen was back to his 2 1/2 hour-3 hour naps this weekend, had no night-waking, woke up later, was easier to get to bed (and stay in bed!), and only hit Aiden a couple times (I guess we'll need more than a weekend for that one!). In general, he had a happier disposition, was more compliant, and was more enjoyable to be around. It is truly amazing how much sleep - or lack of sleep - can affect a person, especially a little person.

       So with one down, I am rereading the early chapters tonight for the little guy. I admit that we have been wearing out some D batteries as Aiden has mostly slept in his swing during the day, but that will soon change! After reading one paragraph where he described "motion" sleep (sleep in a car, in a swing, etc.) as poor quality sleep, I put down my book and promptly moved Aiden to his bassinet! Now I am off to rediscover the mystery to daytime naps! 

       More to come...