Remember our post about transitioning Mylin into a
BIG GIRL bed?
Well here's an update about 6 weeks later...
Our silly little goose did take some training for the new room to work!
And mom and dad took A LOT of patience, prayer, wisdom, and flexibility to make it work too!
At first we guided her back to her bed when she would get out or wake up crying
The first night this took over 2 hours for her to fall asleep!
The next few nights got extremely easier and better (much like when we started sleep training her at 6 months old in her crib)
Then - we had a major transition...there was no getting her to calm down for bed or naps!
So we decided instead of guiding back to bed, we'd begin to discipline her since we'd seen some positive fruit and now she was deciding not to obey
So we began to paddle her for getting out of her bed.
This has proved to be THE ROUGHEST days of our parenting
Looking back I don't remember how long it lasted - but I think around 10 days (felt like 10,000!!!)
As the mommy and the parent who is home with her most - I was responsible for about 75% of it...if not more
There was 1 day that I called Joel sobbing and somewhat screaming (he was at work)
I was so emotionally overwhelmed and exhausted (p.s. I was also beginning my 3rd trimester of pregnancy with Wee One!) and could not handle it any more
Let me just say I could not even express to you how thankful I am for God's provision in this husband for me
He offered to come home from work for the afternoon so I could calm down and he could take over with Mylin (I told him no - I'd feel so silly if he took vacation time for my emotional meltdown!)
But then when he did come home that evening, he made sure to take over bedtime for the next several nights
Only a few nights later we were both lying down in our room while taking turns getting Mylin back in her bed
We were praying and discussing what to do and I began to have a panic attack
I have only had a handfull in my life (and most, if not all, during my 2 pregnancies) and knew that whatever we were trying to accomplish was not worth the toll it was taking on us!
I was texting a good friend and encourager about our situation with Mylin - desperate for some advice and support
She said something simple I will never forget!
She told us that we weren't failures as parents just because she wouldn't stay in bed.
She suggested we put the gate up on her doorway and just let her cry it out like we did when she was in a crib
And then she said that if she needed to sleep in the pack n play for another month while the baby was here until she was old enough/ready for the transition that it was OK to do that!
Seems simple, right?
Well it changed our lives!
After that night we have never had to paddle her for anything bedtime related and she has gotten into a simple and predictable bedtime and naptime routine!
Here we are 6 weeks later and she has fully transitioned to her new room and new bed
She may screw around and often sing in her room for up to an hour after we tell her it's 'bedtime'
But every night we find her tucked in her bed (yes, she tucks herself in...ADORABLE!) and sleeping soundly until morning
Thank you, God for encouraging friends, for endurance, strength, patience, flexibility, and most of all for a partnership in our marriage that makes any difficult stressor manageable!
Discipline and it's many forms can come under scrutiny and are easily judged. We have decided on what form our discipline will take in our family and have peace about it - so know that while we enjoy reading your comments on our lives - we don't care to read your criticisms! :)
