Two years later, and I FINALLY got my son sleeping through the night in his own bed! I honestly thought the day would never come. I'm sure if I took sleep training a little bit more serious I probably could have got there a little bit quicker. But the time came, and let's just say I am grateful. How did I do it?
STICKER Charts!
After moving from Colorado to Michigan and Michigan to North Dakota, I finally decided to bite it in the butt and get serious. I read a series of blog posts and watched a handful of youtube videos and found a solution that seemed like it would work for me and my son.
There were two things I was very diligent about:
Bedtime routine!
Implementing the sticker chart
Here is a great bedtime routine video and free downloadable chart by Little Z's.
Here is the sticker chart I implemented. I found this one on Etsy, but you could easily find a free one or even create your own!
Choose a reward that will motivate your child, but is also something practical. We chose a new toy as a reward, but it could be as simple as a donut for breakfast! Something your child will think is FUN and EXCITING!
To my surprise, this process worked rather quickly! Getting my son to fall asleep on his own was the hardest part. I used the chair method and sat next to his bed in a chair. Each night I slowly moved the chair closer to the door until I was no longer in his room. I now am able to sit downstairs while he stays in his room by himself! WIN!
It's amazing what you can get done when you aren't having to spend an hour a night battling the bedtime blues.
Bedtime became such a stressful part of the day that I sincerely did not look forward to it. Now, I am able to enjoy some me time or we are able to enjoy time together as a couple.
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