At our old apartment bedtime went as follows: I put Jack to bed, then I laid next to Ana in our bed until she fell asleep, then I carried her to her own bedroom with Jack. For the last 6 weeks at Grandma's house, Jack has slept in a room by himself and Ana has slept on a mattress at the foot of our bed. She has started going to sleep by herself and usually does really well. I turn on music for her and though she usually turns the light on and plays for a while, she goes to sleep eventually. It makes me happy.
We're moving into a two bedroom house this weekend. For all of those parents out there: how do you put two kids to bed in the same room? If I put Jack down first, Ana might wake him up. But Ana sometimes doesn't fall asleep until after 9. I can't keep Jack up that late. What do I do?
8 comments:
My girls sleep in the same room. When Jenna was younger, I just put her to bed first and then put Sydney to bed when it was her time. It actually worked out pretty good, even though Jenna is a light sleeper. As they've gotten older, we have challenges with them settling down some nights, but it's not bad enough that I want to separate them. I say just go for it & you'll find what works for you. Good luck!
Same thing here...it took a while, but the kids do well sharing a room now. I put Zach down at least a half hour before Aubrey (usually between 7:30-8). Then when he's asleep I put her to bed. Sometimes Z wakes up but, if that happens, we lay him back down and give him a sippy cup of water. He knows what's to be expected (usually) and Aubrey knows not to talk to him. She's a pretty obedient child, so we're lucky! :)
I say keep putting Jack down first. I thought having Alaina in with Seth while we are re-doing rooms would be a nightmare, but it hasn't at all. It might take a week or so to adjust, but I bet Ana will learn to leave Jack alone. Especially if you make that one of the "bedtime rules." Good luck. Yeah for your own place!
I used to try and put kids down separately when they were in their own room, but I've given up on that now. I put both kids in bed (on opposite sides of the room) and sit outside the door. Whenever I hear one trying to get up or talking, I tell them to be quiet. They have learned not to talk - to just go to sleep. But it took a little while! You definitely have to have them on a schedule before you do this where they are tired enough to just sleep!
I've always put both girls to bed at the same time...since Claire turned one. They are used to it & we have no problems with it. Actually, Claire gets upset if Sadie is not in the room with her. They both are allowed to take books in their beds & we never know which one will fall asleep first or if they'll both konk out at the same time. We've had no problems with it & i'm just glad that I don't have to lay down with anybody.
Trial and error, and DON'T GIVE UP!!! Try something for 3-4 days (or a week, if you possibly can) and see if it eventually "clicks". If not, try something else. My kids slept in the same room for 2 years, and although it was a bit of a trial at first, they settled into the groove eventually. I usually put Lina down first, then Caleb down an hour later. The first few nights Lina woke up, but then she got used to the noise and stopped waking up. We also talked to Caleb about being the "big brother" and having to be quiet so Lina could sleep. Like I said, it took a little while, but eventually it became routine as well.
My boys have always shared. It has it's challenges. After awhile they get used to the others noises and sleep through it.
Your kids might be to young for this but after they are in bed we read a few srories from the friend and it calms them down really well.
Wow, I'm trying to remember those days. I remember vacuuming in the bedroom until Josh fell asleep, that was the only thing that would keep the kids from talking and they both stayed in bed. I think somehow that 'white noise' was helpful in comforting Josh and helping the kids relax and let go of the day. Wierd, I know... I think I vacuumed 25 minutes one night. Quiet music or tapes like Scripture Scouts are good to play. I've also put a rocking chair in the kids room before so that I could sit and read while they fell asleep. My babies never did go to sleep very early so I always put the older kids to bed and then had quiet time with the baby. By the time the baby went to sleep everyone else was already snoozing so it was easy to put baby in the crib and no one woke up. Good luck....
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