Photo Diary: Helping The Girls Sleep Better At Night

Both of my girls have always seemed to have issues at bedtime. Little G has been dealing with Toddler Hypoglycemia for the last couple of years and LJ has never managed to go a few days without waking in the night. I know I won’t be alone in these sleep issues but it seems to be getting worse recently. LJ now seems to have an irrational fear of bedtime which is having a knock on effect on her sister. The pair of them take turns in waking through the night!

When Little G was a baby we used to take a full hour of winding down to bedtime, dimming the lights and spending some quiet time in her room. We have never really done that with LJ though, I am not sure if it is through laziness or just a more relaxed approach to parenting. Either way, bedtime seems to be a sudden affair where the girls are bundled up to bed with a story and then left to go to sleep. Probably not the best way to go about things!

A while back I decided it would be good to read them a bedtime story together rather than separately. Not only does that mean nobody gets a rushed story but it also means they share a moment together which is lovely. We have been so busy lately though so it has taken a while to get into the habit. It doesn’t help that often the girls don’t necessarily go to bed at the same time. However this last week, with the increase in night wakings, we have make a concerted effort to be better at doing bedtime.

LJ prefers it if I do bedtime but Mr F and I still take turns, despite her protestations on his nights. She soon calms down though and settles for their story. One of their favourites at the moment is The Night Before Christmas. I have to say it is one of my favourites too and really leaves me feeling Christmassy. We have read it every night for about a week along with another story each night. Then they are happy to go off to their rooms and snuggle under their duvets.

LJ still has a dummy at bedtime, it is the only time she has one now. I know some parents don’t agree with them but it makes her happy so who am I to argue? She is a stickler for routine and will go to find her dummy, turn on her nightlight and roll over to sleep. When she wakes in the morning she pops her dummy back in the drawer and is happy as larry!

Her nightlight is from Dreambaby® and she loves it. I think she likes that she can press the button herself so is in control if it should turn off too soon. It has certainly helped with bedtime as I do think she gets scared of the dark- I know I did as a child, always having the landing light on until I was about 8! Little G used to have a night light but doesn’t seem to fussed by the dark any more which is good.

I don’t know what is triggering the disrupted sleep for them both. Perhaps LJ is going to stun us all into silence by starting to talk on her birthday next week! I think Little G is just a little under the weather as it is nearing the end of term. Either way I am enjoying the new shared bedtime routine- any excuse to cuddle up to my girls is alright by me!

I have a Dreambaby® ladybug night light to giveaway so if you have a little one who is afraid of the dark too, this could be the answer! All you have to do is complete the widget below. Good luck!

Dreambaby® Night Light

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