Sleep!

Evan's been having a hard time with sleep the last week or so. Hard time falling asleep, hard time staying asleep and a hard time sleeping through to a decent hour in the morning. Which means, a hard time for me and Pops!

I found an interesting article on Baby Center and one tip really stood out to me. It was about "losing the crutch."

"Come bedtime, many kids this age still have trouble falling asleep without the comfort of a pacifier, a stuffed animal, a special lullaby tape, or you. The problem: If that sleep aid isn't available when your child wakes, she may have trouble dozing off again. The solution: Gradually and gently phase out any sleep aids that your child can't turn to by herself during the night. "When you put your child to sleep, leave her bedroom exactly as it will be in the middle of the night," Mindell says. If you plan to turn the hall light off when you retire, turn it off now. White noise or soft music is fine — provided it plays all night. And whatever bedtime routine you follow, it's imperative that you leave the room before your child falls asleep so she doesn't wake up wondering why you're no longer there. Just remember that this may be a long, hard process. Success won't come overnight, so be patient."

Evan's birdies became a crutch and whenever he awoke, he would insist that I come and turn it back on for him. So what we tried last night was NO birdies (cold turkey!) and instead I set up a radio that played music all night long. That way, if/when he awoke at night, he would still hear music and could go back to sleep on his own. We put him down last night and he did not leave his room once (previously, it was 3-5 times). He slept all the way through to 5ish, when he came out because his blanket fell off his bed. Yes, he would rather walk down the hall and get me, rather than reach down and pick up his blanket off the floor himself. Go figure. Tonight - same thing. No birdies, just the radio playing all night. Again, he did not leave his room after being tucked in. We shall see what happens overnight. I'd really like to get him back on track with his sleep before the little one comes and throws us all off!