Pages

Little Gym and Little Sleep

Tuesday, September 11, 2007


I signed Kate up for a Mommy and me class at the Little Gym a few weeks ago. For the first 5 minutes on day one, she clung to my neck for dear life. Now, she explores freely, plays with the other kids and even goes up to the teacher for stamps. She takes the BEST naps after little Gym.

Kate is very fond of Scout's new dog bed. In fact, whenever I look, that is where she is. It kind of yucks me out. I mean it is brand new so it's not dirty...yet. Well, at least she is staying out of the dog food and water for now.

Thank you for all of the comments on sleep. It made me feel SO much better to read that many of you go through this. Not that I'd wish this on anyone but I was starting to beat myself up a bit and wonder if it was somehow my fault. Last night Kate slept with me and Dave. Well let me re-phrase that, Kate slept wrapped around my neck and legs. I do not really want her in our bed but I am at a loss as to what else to do. In 10 years of being a Mom, a child has never slept in our bed until last night. Here is my question...Once you do co-sleep, how do you ever get the child out of your bed? Not sure what tonight will bring.....

26 comments:

  1. My 7 year old bio boy never slept in a crib! When he was 2ish, he was moving around so much, it was time. He loved Caillou at the time, and I bought a 3 foot tall Caillou stuffed animal. He had a room w/a racecar bed, and had never slept in it. I told him there wasn't room for Caillou in our bed, but he would fit perfectly in the racecar bed w/him. That was all it took. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

    We absolutely loved co-sleeping, and would have loved to do it with Sophia, too, but she prefers to be in her crib.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL ~ Ian was the co-sleeps with LiLi everyday on the floor in her room :D Call me if you want to talk about it.

    That is so funny you posted about the Little Gym, I did the same post today :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello,
    Not sure how I found your blog, but I thought I would leave you a comment. I have never adopted but both of my kids have slept with us. I made my son start out in his crib, but he would wake up several times in the night and we would give into him just to get some slept. We were so sleep deprived for years but now he is six and sleeps in his own bed. At least when they are older you can talk to them and work out a reward system to get them to stay in their bed. My daughter is now 2 and we will start weeding her out soon. She had cronic ear infections so she some how ended up sleeping with us from about 7 months old on. Hang in there. I say do whatever it takes just to get some sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is a riot that Kate loves Scout's bed so much! I love her little monogrammed pink dress she wore to her "my gym" class. She is such a doll!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really hope that everything works itself out with Kate's sleeping soon. I know it will be just fine. I think you're amazing - you do so much on so little sleep!

    Thanks for the chat today. I always love talking to you. I did have some other things I'd love to talk about with you, but when I am alone. Hopefully we can talk soon.

    Enjoy your hour of errands.

    Love your new look. ;)

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Is she the best dressed at Little Gym?? LOL Glad she is loving it.

    Annslee sleeps with us off and on..and personally, I love to snuggle with her. We have never had any issues moving her to her crib but she may be an exception and not the rule.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh...I meant to say that I love the new header too and that maybe she could sleep all night in Scout's bed...hey, don't knock it if it works !!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hay Kim,

    I havent talked with you in so long but have kept up on your blog. I just love watching Kate and your boys. You kids remind me of my family (but much more tidy:)Kate also totally reminds me of Mia. They are both so carefree and such "unphased" little ones. Nothing phases Mia and they both seem happy most of the time.

    Anyway, Mia has not slept with us yet but we had a stint with each of our boys. One was about the age of Kate when he started the stint and he pretty much needed the comfort and I needed the sleep. We made a point that each night they slept with us that we would put them back in their beds in the middle of the night so they would wake up in their own ned. Eventually, both of them grew out of it. They still will come in sometimes for comfort, but they are not "regulars".

    I enjoy your blog and I would love to email you about your pretty new blog. I need to do something with mine.

    Christy :)
    www.tomiawithlove.blogspot.com
    kcbock@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my goodness, I LOVE your new look!

    Also, where did you get Kate's precious monagrammed dress? I think I "need" one. :-)

    Lilly

    ReplyDelete
  10. OMG ~ She is just TOO cute!!!! I love the ball and the boys! Better watch out Mommy!

    I am glad we talked and I know that you are better. I went ahead and grabbed the book for you, last thing you need is stress of trying to get a book :D Sleep well tonight :D

    Ladybug hugs,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lily,
    The pink dress was from Strasburg and I had it monogrammed locally. It just looked like it needed a little something and you know I am all about the monogram!

    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your blog looks just lovely. Love the colors. Sweet, sweet pictures of your darling Kate. She is so precious and I just love her. Hope you got some sleep. It would be kind of fun to snuggle and sleep with Hannah but our bed isn't big enough. lol
    The gym looks fun and her facial expressions, priceless. She reminds me so much of Hannah. They are both little thinkers.
    Nicholas and I made the submarine today. He loved it. He laughed when I got the buzzer hooked up and I jumped! I thought I got shocked! He thought it was hysterical.
    Thank you again.
    Miss You
    Daleea

    ReplyDelete
  13. kim you'd better be reading this - you know I am not one for leaving comments but I almost fell over when I read that sweet kate finally made it into your bed - GO KATE! - also, remember when she first arrived home and your attempt at co-sleeping to comfort her did not seem to do the trick - I think my wonderful god daughter has definitely attatched to her amazing mommy - head, neck, legs and all - the chiropractor is going to love you! staci

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great pictures - Looks like Kate had a good time at little Gym. I posted yesterday I had no advise for the sleep issues - well we never had a problem with our son sleeping in his crib but when we moved (he was 4) from NY to Fl - to a house where our bedroom is on the 3rd floor and his is on the 2nd - prior house was a ranch and our bedrooms were next door. We starting dealing with nighttime wakeups, crying and no one getting much sleep. We decided to buy a crib size mattress, covered it with a sheet and then a twin size down pillow topper, bought a comfy blanket and he has slept (and us) peacefully ever since. During the day it goes under our bed. I know many will say this is wrong but for OUR FAMILY this worked and continues to work. Now he is planning on moving back into his room once our Mimi comes home - he has cool bunkbeds and can't wait to share them, even though Mimi has her own room waiting. We'll see when she comes home what we deal with, but I'm prepared to buy another mattress and do the same thing - I'm grateful for a large bedroom these days :) I hope everything works out soon and you all have peaceful nights.....

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love your new look and I think I have fallen in love with your little lovey! She is precious.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The blog looks great. We are a Little Gym family too - Em loved it and now it is Hannah's turn:-)

    The pictures are priceless. She is such a cutie. Hoping another night of sleep is ahead of you.

    Heather

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, she looks like she is having so much fun! Little Gym is great!!!

    I am sorry to hear you are having rough nights. We went through that the first year Linzi was home. She had terrible separation anxiety, day and night. She also had night terrors and they seemed worse when she was overtired. I always stayed with her until she was asleep again, or brought her in my bed. One thing that really helped was to play music in her room when we put her down and when she woke up. Three years later, she sleeps mostly in her room, but does come in our room often. She will fall asleep in her bed and wake up in the middle of the night almost every night. Luckily, she will go right back to sleep when I put her in our bed, so it's manageable. I hope you get some rest soon!

    ReplyDelete
  18. here's hoping that Little Gym wore her out and she is all set for a good night's sleep!

    I love the new blog look too Kim!

    Deb

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is the first time I have commented on your blog but we do co-sleep at our house also. We have two 2 year olds one from China and one from South Korea. During the adoption of Emma from South Korea we tried to transition Lottie into a toddler bed because we knew Emma did not sleep in a crib. Lottie refused to sleep by herself after that...I probably should have never taken her out of the crib but that's history now. That was October of 2006 and Lottie is still sleeping with us. She will be three in November but to me there is something extra she is needing from her Mommy and if sleeping with me reassures her or gives her extra security then I am more than happy to snuggle with my monkey girl! Beautiful blog by the way and your daughter is just too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a fun place! Glad she slept, how good did you sleep with her wrapped around you? Would you believe Myah was up several times last night and around 4am I finally put her in bed with me too for the first time! Dayton slept with us quite a bit when he was younger too. He eventually just wanted to sleep in his own bed. Good luck tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I usually "lurk" but I need to help a fellow mom out. When children don't sleep well it is usually because of a number of different reasons. Some common ones are 1. Not getting enough energy out during the day..like you said..she sleeps better AFTER the gym..2. Fear. Ask her if she is afraid. She might seem too young to talk to, but she really isn't. Kids understand EVERYTHING we say. Simply explain to her all the reasons she has to be safe and loved and happy. 3. Diet. Is she eating close to bedtime? High sugar foods (even fruit and fruit juices) 4. New environment/changes in home or schedule-has something changed in your home recently? Are the boys going to school and before were they around more during the summer? Little things can "throw" a child off. and lastly 5. Need for comfort/Separation anxiety. VERY NORMAL and VERY FRUSTRATING! This is something that takes time. Time is something hard to give when it means restless and sleepless nights. But it WILL NOT last forever, but her LOVE for you will. Good Luck!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh sweetie girl, Lily STILL sleeps with us and she's 3, so I have no answers for you.
    What I will say: We all get good sleep at night, so we're OK with it for now.
    Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  23. My daughter, who is now five, slept with us from the day we brought her home. We started "weening" her from our bed into hers around four years old. It was hit or miss at first, but it gets better. She's sleeping in her own bed now, but occassionaly she comes in during the middle of the night and it is a welcome treat! I wouldn't worry too much about it...she's going to eventually want to sleep on her own, she just needs to develop that trust and feel totally safe.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh, and I'm glad Kate is liking her gym class...

    ReplyDelete
  25. Co-sleeping sometimes gives a child they need; and like you said this can wax and wane depending on the situation. My four year old likes to sleep with us at least three nights per week and we let her. We put her in her own bed and let her come into our room whenever she wants. I always want her to feel like we have an open door policy..there are times when she does not do it for long periods of time and then she restarts up. Interestingly this has started this past week..I think in response to us receiving the referral of her mei mei. Beleive me they will stop eventually..My eldest did. I guess you just need to decide what is more important..sleeping in general or an exhausted mom and DD.
    The one thing I might ask you..is she getting a lot of stimuli at the end of the day (ie when her brothers and dad get home? ) It might be that you need to reduce her stimuli in the early evening.....she might go to sleep a little more relaxed and stay asleep a little longer too..

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your kindness.