[email protected]

<<The problem I was describing in my earlier post is that my 2 year old
will nurse, lie there for a while, and then pop up and want to play,
roll over us, etc. *That's* when I bring in the sensory stuff --
something to help him release the awake.

Okay, I feel better now that I've clarified. <g>

Peace,
Amy>>
***************

Amy,
Our children are 13,5,3 and 1
We co-sleep also with our 1 and 3 yr old. We don't practice naps we just
sleep when we feel the need.
Is it possible to turn the lighting down a bit more? We have found that with
our 3yr old Nicholas needs less light to sleep by.
Our 1 yr old nurses to sleep but I have found if he hears the theme song to
PBS Sprout OnDemand he sits up and may begin to dance around. We do play them
still but just as soon as we get into bed.
We also go to bed later.
Laura


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

arcarpenter2003

--- In [email protected], HMSL2@a... wrote:
==Is it possible to turn the lighting down a bit more? We have found
that with
> our 3yr old Nicholas needs less light to sleep by.
> Our 1 yr old nurses to sleep but I have found if he hears the theme
song to
> PBS Sprout OnDemand he sits up and may begin to dance around. We do
play them
> still but just as soon as we get into bed.
> We also go to bed later. ==

Yes, the lights will be out, everyone asleep, it will be 10 or 11 at
night, and dear 2 y.o. Riley, after nursing and lying there for a few
minutes, will be perched on my chest, pressing his face hard into mine
and smiling. This will be after low lights for a while, PJs, some
nice lavender lotion on his body, watching some Baby Einstein, etc.
It's not every night, but when it happens, that's when I know he wants
to go to sleep, but his "active-ness" hasn't left his body yet
(overall he is a *very* active and intense 2 y.o.). That's what I
mean by attending to his sensory needs.

What we do lately is he lies on top of me in bed while I hold him
tight and I rock him side to side with both my arms and my body. It's
a pretty hard rocking, but the pressure and the rhythm of it allows
him to finally release and relax enough to get to sleep. It's also
really pleasant and snuggly and comforting for both of us. <g>

Someone also mentioned naps, and I agree that I have to watch those.
He still falls asleep easily in the afternoon, and it doesn't work to
try to skip his nap. But if he sleeps too long or too late, he'll be
up until 12 or 1 a.m., and then up again at 7 or 8. Not enough sleep
for Mama! <g> So it works to start being noisy at a certain point in
his nap -- 2 hours or less. <g>

Our situation is certainly working for us, but I also have to pay much
more attention to helping Riley sleep than I ever did for Fisher, our
8 y.o. son. I don't mind having to do so -- it's just interesting and
a bit surprising for me.

Peace,
Amy

soggyboysmom

--- In [email protected], "arcarpenter2003"
<arcarpenter@g...> wrote:
> What we do lately is he lies on top of me in bed while I hold him
> tight and I rock him side to side with both my arms and my body.
>It's
> a pretty hard rocking, but the pressure and the rhythm of it allows
> him to finally release and relax enough to get to sleep. It's also
> really pleasant and snuggly and comforting for both of us. <g>
>> Amy
I found with my DS that sometimes a really firm back rub or foot rub
(even when he was a toddler) really helped him relax his energetic
self. At that age, we'd be snuggled as you describe, face to face,
and I'd wrap my arms around and slowly "walk" my fingertips down his
back, pressing gently with all fingertips then moving down a bit and
pressing again, on both sides of his spine, especially in the area
between the shoulder blades. One good thing about a foot rub is that
the recipient is going anywhere because you've got their feet in
your hands. DS is 7 now and still requests back and foot rubs when
he needs help unwinding - and I'll still offer them when it looks
like he needs to unwind. He has different "Settings" now - snow (a
smoothing type motion), rain (fingertip pat like raindrops), etc.