Tag Archives: bedtime

1001 Nights of Bedtime – The ups and downs of sleep in the early years

1001 Nights of Bedtime

(Photo credit: Becca Gutierrez with Rusty Metals Photography  // @RustyMetalsPhotography)

Whether on TV or all the articles online, parents idolize bedtime. It’s that special time with kids, an important part of the routine and a key part of bonding. Or so they say. Let’s be realistic, though – unless you do sleep training or have a magic kid, it’s probably also a bit of a struggle. The first years are the hardest for obvious reasons, and I just keep thinking of them as the 1001 nights of bedtime, and just like Scheherazade’s story, it can be about survival more than love.

I know, I know, these will be the times I’ll look back on fondly when Harley is older. This is part of how I’m building a solid foundation of love and trust with her. But mostly, I end up trapped under a hot toddler who screams at me if I move. So yeah, the Scheherazade thing fits. Maybe. Continue Reading

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The dreaded “sleep regression”

Sleep regression

If, like me, you read your share of parenting books/site, you’ll know the term experts like to use is “sleep regression”. Supposedly, they happen at fairly predictable times. There’s the 4-6 month sleep regression, the 8-10 month sleep regression and the 18 month sleep regression. Personally, I hate the term. It’s as if the people who call it that have no experience with an actual baby, or parenthood, or sleep deprivation.

Harley hasn’t been a bad sleeper. I’ve heard such horror stories, I really can’t complain. From a relatively early age, she would sleep for 2-3 hours at a time, slowly extended to 3, 4, 5, 6 and eventually 8 hours of sleep. It was glorious. And then it was snatched away from me. For the past week or two, Harley has been refusing to nap, or fighting her naps so much that they’re almost impossible. You’d think that would leave her exhausted at night, but nope! Instead, she is up more frequently than she’s been in months. Obviously, this is taking its toll. Continue Reading

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