[kzwief]

First, can I just say that I LOVE having these "problems"! Ok, now on to the serious business... Oh and new pictures are on the blog! It's in my siggy!

Katelyn is a night owl. Seriously. This kid I don't think has EVER gone to bed before 8:30PM. And that was only ONCE last night. It did not last. Tonite she was up until 9:45. So when she gets to bed that late, she sleeps late in the morning. Like 8:30-9:00AM before she is awake. 10:00AM before she is up and doing anything. She likes to lay around for another 30-60 minutes watching the dogs, watching TV or staring off into space while she rubs the sleep from her eyes. I'm not kidding. If she is like this now, what on earth will she be like when she is a teenager? LOL!

I wouldn't normally worry about her sleep patterns if Kevin and I didn't have to go to work in the mornings. If I stayed at home, it probably wouldn't be a big deal. She and I could sleep until 10AM if we wanted too. I am already stressing about going back to work the last week of December with her on this schedule! My start times at work vary from 7am-9am and we have a 40 mile trip into work. So, there are days I am up before 5am to make it to work on time. Trying to get Katelyn fed and ready for daycare in the mornings, I will have to get up at 4:30am and we will have to leave the house by 5:45. So her getting up at 8:30 will have to become a thing of the past. How do I get her to bed earlier in the evening. C'mon Mommies I NEED help

[jrainbow]

The moral of the story is to start now living the way you will have to live at the end of Dec. If she can't sleep until 10:00 then - she shouldn't sleep until 10:00 now. When she has to start getting up earlier, she may begin going to bed earlier.

I had a night owl also. I got her in bed by setting up a nightly routine - after we got home and got dinner, we would go back and she would take a warm bath - while we talked more about her day. Then we would get in pjs, read a book, and she would go to bed - with the music on. She didn't have to go to sleep - she just had to stay in bed. And - I left. Sometimes she would be up for 30 min or more talking with her dolls but I believed that since she was quiet and relaxed and calm - it was as good as sleep. We didn't have much trouble in the mornings. Some kids don't need as much sleep but they do need to be calm.

By telling her she didn't have to go to sleep, I cut out all the arguments about her not being sleepy and by leaving, I let her be calm. She is 20 now ... and still a nightowl.

Good luck ... and have fun.

[mommyto2guatboys]

She hasn't been home too long, one thing I noticed with my youngest son when he came home was that he slept a lot. I think for him sleep was comfort, not sure if this is the case, but maybe with time and by the time you have to go back to work she will adjust more and her schedule will match your more.
Just a thought,

Magen
My family!

[robandjulie]

Agreed that it's too early in her homecoming to assume this is going to be the normal.

At the FF, Jorge slept from 8:30 or 9 PM until 6AM but we suspect that was mostly due to the schedules at their house and close proximity of bedrooms to living spaces. Within a month of him being home he'd was going to bed at 6:30-7 PM and sleeps until 7:15-8 depending on the morning.

But...the first few weeks we were all going to bed at 9PM after lots of chaos and then waking up a dozen times and up for the day at 6 Am and we were sure we were going to lose our minds within 2 weeks.

Find a nighttime routine that works for you. It varies by kid and parents, just find what you all like and can stick to.

For DS he adores baths so we eat dinner (5:30 or 6), play quietly for a bit in a room with just a few lamps on (the hour or two leading up to bedtime should be quiet and peaceful and dimmed--limit the dance parties or playing tag to the afternoon) then we run a tub and he practically runs upstairs. He's in the tub until 6:15 or 6:30, then into PJS and with just a low lamp and his CD player playing his Spanish lullabyes we rock and read books while he takes his bottle. As soon as he done with his bottle we go brush our teeth and I turn off the light as we walk out (trying to break the bottle to sleep connection which has worked pretty well) and when we come back it's a dark room with just his music. I grab a blanket off his crib rail, snuggle him and sway around a bit while I sing 1-3 songs and he relaxes onto me. When he's really relaxed I put him down and pat his back for the rest of a song or so, and say good night.

DD (3) hates baths and always has; and she refused to take a bottle ever. By this age she was done nursing so she had a very different routine. Her routine at that age was to wipe up after dinner and play quietly a bit, then as we walked upstairs I always sang the same song. She got her PJs on and we'd cuddle into the rockign chair in her room and read 2-12 books (ha! eventually we got into the 3 and only 3 routine) and then dim the lights the rest of the way, turn on her music, and rock and talk a bit about her day. With her we've always recapped her day ("gosh what a day! we went to the park and then had yummy mac-n-cheese and ...") and tell her about our plans for tomorrow. Then another song that I always sing and she goes to bed.

The first month or so that he was home we had to rock him all the way to sleep and transfer him to the crib. Once that was somewhat consistent we started putting him down drowsy. I highly recommend "the no cry sleep solution" by Pantley if you run into any issues.

[cbmstephanie]

I too think it's too early to think that this will be nomal for her.

I found that the thing that works best is to get into a routine and stick to it. My girls know that we eat, play for a bit, then bath, jammies, read a book and then we rock. I could probably do that at 3:00 in the afternoon and they would think it's time to go to sleep. Of course, they would be up at 9pm ready to go!!

I learn a lesson every Sunday when we go to sleep a little later on Saturday night, wake up a little later and then they aren't ready to go to sleep on Sunday evening. If I let them get out of their routine, Monday mornings are a killer!!

You'll find what works for you and Kate...it will just take a little experimemtation!! Have fun...like you said...aren't you glad you are dealing with this little problem!!

[guatparents2be]

sometimes if people miss the first sweet spot they'll get a second wind and be up too late. i'm one of those people. if i go to bed at 9:30 i'm fine. if i wait until 11 i can lie there for hours.

maybe you need to wake her up early (i know, it sounds horrible) so she's tired for bedtime. there's a great book that folks on the forum have recommended about this...sleep begets sleep. i stayed up too late last night so i can't remember what it' called...

another option if that doesn't work is to get a nanny for her instead of daycare for dec. you could get her accustomed to the nanny then she can sleep as late as she needs to and the nanny will be there when she gets up.

i agree though that whatever you do you do it soon.

good luck! and welcome home.

[EZ2Luv]

I was going to suggest the early wake up, starting now and the importance of a rountine is key.
I agree though it is hard during the adjustment period or any kind of change for that matter for kids to get a routine.

But seriously, you need to start now because you don't want to have to be stressing a week before you return to work. Sounds like you are doing enough of that now.

The good news is though, once you get into a routine it does get easier.

Boy can I relate to those early mornings. Albeit I didn'y have that much of a commute, but I had to leave my house at 4:25am. Not easy with 3 little ones.

EZ

[Devora]

At the FF, Jorge slept from 8:30 or 9 PM until 6AM but we suspect that was mostly due to the schedules at their house and close proximity of bedrooms to living spaces. Within a month of him being home he'd was going to bed at 6:30-7 PM and sleeps until 7:15-8 depending on the morning.

You could have written this about my son! Once we recognized that he was actually tired at 7pm and tried putting him down then we found that he slept much more. He did wake up in the middle of the night for one bottle (until he was 11 months old), but that was it. (With his foster family he didn't get up for a bottle, but instead got one before going to bed at 9pm and again one at 6am when he woke up. For us we would do a 7pm bottle, 1am, and 7:30am).

Try watching for subtle tired signs much earlier in the evening. It might help you to identify an earlier window for bedtime. And if she doesn't fall asleep right away but is playing quietly, that's fine. I'm someone who can't go to sleep right away either -- I do crosswords or read a novel. Some kids are the same way, but for them it's talking or playing quietly in their bed until they fall asleep.

[GuatMommy2Be]

Before reading any responses...

What time is she napping? Two options that I can think of..

Start putting her to bed 15 minutes earlier each night until you get to the time you want her in bed.

Skip all naps one day and put her to bed at the time you'd like, then adjust her nap time the following day.

M goes to bed at 7:30. She came home going to bed at 6:30! We then switched it to 8, and now back to 7:30 because she will not nap anymore.

[Ms.Judi]

hi Kim-I agree with everyone else. Try starting the routine you'll have to be on now to ease Kate into a transition period. Just start backing up her bedtime little by little and I definately think that a routine is KEY to your survival. Aren't these the best problems to have?? Good luck!!

[dana3262]

I had the same issue when Maddy first came home. Now we have a pretty tight nighttime / bedtime routine:

Dinner at 5:30 - 6 pm
Play until 7 - 7:15
Bath - 7:15
Quiet Play until 8pm (books, snuggles, etc)
In her room, warm bottle & quiet talk then into her crib
She is sleeping until 7:15 - 8:15 (that was a gift!!! and has only happened twice)

You'll get there, you just need to find your own nuisances!! It's the best journey ever!!

[amyfk]

I wish I had advice. My kid is a night owl too. I am home so it works, but when I go back to work I dont know what Im going to do. The earliest she gets up to bed is 10pm. Best luck,
Amy K, NJ

[mayaprincess]

I agree with someone else who stated that you should start your December schedule now. Maybe you can start waking her up at 7:00 and then work backwards. She will eventually be exhausted and you will be able to have the baby in bed by 8:00.

[RGirl]

First, congratulations on bringing your daughter home!!!

Whenever I have had to change bedtimes or wake-up times (usually just for a time change), I have started a bit before the change needed to take place, doing the change in increments. Maybe you could try putting her to bed 1/2 hour early for the next few nights, and then another 1/2 hour, etc. until she is going to sleep at a time that results in an earlier wake-up?

And I agree that a good bedtime routine makes a world of difference.

Good luck and have fun!

[2forus]

My kids are very schedule oriented. Thankfully! I had no choice but to try to get a schedule from the beginning with 3 so close in age. All I can say is find a routine and stick with it every day. My kids are in bed at 8, on the rare occasion that they're up later they still get up around 7 and are miserable because they didn't get their normal sleep. Good luck.