The clocks go forward this weekend!
No matter what time my kids wake at I always want more. With twin 4 year olds and a 20 month old sleep is the most valued commodity in our home. Over the years I have tried numerous tips to get the girls to sleep later, some which have worked and some which have totally backfired leaving our house in a state of chaos for the day. Check out some of best tips that have worked in our house.
Black out the light
This is trickier than you think. Having tried black out curtains, black out blinds and roman blinds lined with black out lining I eventually resorted to buying black out curtain lining and a roll of sticky Velcro and stuck the lining to the actual window! It really helped the girls sleep longer especially in the summer months and for naps.
Gro Clock
This is a small clock which helps kids understand the difference between night and day. Every house should have one. It’s blue during the “nightime” and then the sun comes up, at whatever time you decide and it turns “yellow”. It does take persistence and reward but stick with it. See more here.
Waking the child
This one surprises me the most, but I was at my wits end and it was effecting the entire house. One of the girls was waking at 5am every morning and waking the whole house. I read on the internet that the best way to deal with this was to go in half an hour before her “programmed” waking time and turn her in the bed just enough to change her position and arouse her and then snuggle her back up. I felt so stupid the first morning stirring her at 4.30am but lone behold she slept straight through 5am! 3 nights later no one in the house was awake at 5am!!!!!
The Sleepy Tot Bunny
For those of you who’s kids use a dodi this is a must. It is a little flat teddy that holds onto the babies dodis with its Velcro paws. So instead of poor babs searching the cot for a tiny dodi they can just find their bear and hey presto four dodi’s sending babs and the rest of the house back to sleep! You can see it here.
Image source: http://gro.co.uk/product/gro-clock/