Good Nights!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine.  It's "Goodnight."  Just that one, simple word has made a world of difference in our bedtime and middle-of-the-night routines.  It's actually not even my secret, since I'm revealing things at the moment.  I got it from "The Baby Book" by Dr. and Martha Sears.

I have to be really honest.  When Hayden was on the "up-every-hour-on-the-hour-plus" routine, I was going crazy.  Chris and I were reading everything we could get our hands on about sleeping and not sleeping and babies and oh-my-gosh-how-do-you-turn-her-off-for-a-couple-hours, FOR THE LOVE!   When I came across this little gem in the Baby Book, I thought it was utter madness.  Still think it is, some days, but oh my stars it works.  EVERY time.  EVERY, EVERY time.  It must be baby speak for "if you want to live to see tomorrow, zip the lips and close the lids.  Pronto!"  Seriously don't get how it works, but I want to share it with you now, for those going through the sleep drama, that it might bring just a bit of peace to your lives.

The technique calls for you to, in preparation for bedtime, go around each room in the house, and begin to say "goodnight" to everything, quietly, with the baby in your arms.  So, we'd start in the kitchen - "Goodnight, fridge, goodnight", "Goodnight, stove, goodnight", "Goodnight, counters, goodnight", and continue through the room, naming each thing and touching it gently as I softly bid it goodnight.  Then we'd move to the dining room, "Goodnight, table, goodnight", "Goodnight, chairs, goodnight".  And then the living room, and finally into the bedroom.  We'd make the rounds, whispering goodnight to each stuffed animal, piece of furniture and toy, and then I would tell Hayden, "Goodnight, Mama, goodnight.  Goodnight, Daddy, goodnight", and finally, as I lay her down in her crib, "Goodnight, Hayden, goodnight".  I would repeat that very quietly as I would cover her with her blanket, tuck in Bunny Bear, and made sure she was settled.

If she began to fuss again, I'd begin "goodnighting" her, and if she really overly upset, we'd start the whole circuit over again, but I always tried to keep her in her room if we made it that far.  She'd eventually settle right down, flip over on her side, clutching Bunny Bear and begin closing her eyes.

In the middle of the night, when nothing would soothe her, a five minute "goodnight" session through the house would have the crying stopped in no time, and usually have her sacked on my shoulder before we made it back to her room.

Even today, if she's not feeling well, or not eager to go to bed, just a few "goodnights" re-programs her and she's back to my cuddly, sleepy baby.

I don't know if it's the repetition, or the gentle tone of my voice, despite her sometimes feverish cries, or the distractions of touching so many different objects, but this magic trick has presto-chango-ed my baby girl every single time.

If you're losing sleep with a wee one, take a night and a wild hair and try it- you might be surprised!  Also, let me know if it works for you.  I'm dying to know if we're the only ones who this helped (surely we couldn't be, or they wouldn't have put it in a book, and besides, these people have like 8 kids... they must have the hang of it by now, don't you think?).

Sweet dreams!