or is it dogs?...well in our family we usually don't let them lie, or they won't sleep at night. we have two very different kids (as do most people) with completely different personalities and the fact that we have one boy and one girl, well that just makes them even more different! and the story that I want to tell you about today is of our son, who didn't like to sleep much, naps or nighttime (our daughter on the other hand, slept always!), both of our kids have been of the sort to be up until about 9pm (gasp!) and then when I read stories about kids needing more sleep to develop their brain skills, I just *sigh*, and wish for that day!
recently, I was talking to a friend who has a young baby (10m) and she is also having difficulty getting her boy to sleep for naps and bedtime so I shared this story and I just heard back that it worked for her too...we called it 'the sleepytime hold', and it goes a little like this; lay down with your child to go to sleep and hold him/her close to you tightly, on your stomach, for about 10 seconds (it doesn't take much) and they might fight a bit, but that is part of what tires them out, then roll to your side let go...and watch them drift off (pretty quickly in our case). writing this now makes it sound a little severe but it's really not because you are holding them (not leaving them to cry in their room, which was always too hard for me to handle). it worked everytime and it wasn't until our son was about two that we gave up this ritual...but it didn't have to happen every time, just when sleeping became difficult. let me know if this works for you...and then I will write a book...just kidding!
