Sleeping through the night.... literally...

What is that I hear?... little girls sleeping peacefully in their big girl beds? So whether the book has magical powers... just nudged me a hair in the right direction (aka I was ALMOST doing everything right)... or I just managed to get a really good night... time will tell. So far I've really only read one chapter... lol. The most striking comment to me was regarding schedules (something always very daunting to me with three small children) ... if scheduling your day is too daunting... start off with the morning and bedtime.... something I think I could do.

So my current goal if you hadn't figured it out yet... is to get the girls and bedtime to co-exist. We were on a fast downward spiral... 30 minutes of bedtime turned to 1 hour... even 2 hours. And we are not talking about, peaceful sitting next to their beds, singing or patting their backs. This was something much more akin to a professional knock down, drag down, hair pulling match of wills.

NOT. FUN.

So what did I do.

Bedtime Routine. Uh yeah we kinda had one of these. I did find one minor but potentially fatal flaws. We were going directly from Start to Finish. What? ---- we weren't explaining steps.

1. We gave a 5 minute warning till bedtime (accompanied by many groans)
2. We walked them through the routine: (Pajamas, brush teeth, bedtime story, kiss and tuck in, music on)
3. If they get out of bed, take off pajamas or bounce on the bed there are consequences... no yelling, no getting upset. It is an automatic removal from the room and friend (aka twin). Where do they go? Dark bathroom.... it doesn't take long for them to realize this is NOT a fun thing.
4. Hugs and kisses... sitting on a beanbag outside their door... and zzzz ... happy sleep routine

(Ok... Kara still ended up partially naked... I still count this as a success) 

Disclaimer: This worked for Kiley and Kara... they did run around more outside because it was nice out today but I like to think that if we continue it might just work. I would at least like to have it calmed down a little before baby #4 comes. It will be a nightmare if he comes and we are still spending 2 hours putting our eldest three to bed.

Abby is a whole other bedtime tale. One that might not get solved until I can be home again. Naps might need to vanish for her. Otherwise I believe bedtime will continue to be a struggle. Time will tell...