Dream Lite

Yes, this thing has been our God Send! I told you all before that since Halloween, Chloe hasn't fallen asleep in her bed at all. She refused to lay down. So I just took it as it was and would let her watch TV on the couch and fall asleep in my arms and then would carry her upstairs. Well....Husband and I were both to the point where we were just done with that. She needed to get back in her bed. So, Memaw bought her this Unicorn thing for Christmas. I had been looking at different options for different lights and things that she could sleep with, but hadn't actually bought anything yet. So, when she opened this thing up this past weekend, I thought, well....it will either work, or it won't. So let's try it!

Saturday night we put her in her Jammies at Memaws house before we left to go home. It's about a 5-10 minute drive home and she almost fell asleep by the time we pulled in the driveway. So I took her inside, took her coat off and we took her upstairs to her room, Dream Lite in tow.

We put her in bed, and at first she sat right up and started fussing a little bit. I turned on the Dream Lite and showed her the starts and lights on the ceiling and told her to lay down and count the stars. So, she did that, and literally fell asleep instantly! I blamed in on the fact that she was super tired. It was after 8pm and she didn't nap that day (or any day that she's home with us).

Onto Sunday. Again, no nap....so around 7:30-8-ish, we put Mickey on the TV and gave her some milk so she could relax a little bit after her bath. Half way through Mickey her eyes were starting to get heavy. So we grabbed Lovey and took her upstairs. Again, put her in bed and she sat up and didn't want anything to do with bed. So we did exactly what we did the night before. Showed her the stars on the ceiling and she instantly laid down and snuggled up to her Lovey and pressed the button on the Dream Lite a few times until I said, "Ok, time to close your eyes" Tucked her hand in her blanket and she fell right to sleep! I couldn't believe it. Was it really this easy?! Has this really been the answer we've been looking for? It's been almost 2 months since we've been able to put her in bed awake and this is all it took?! Omg, I was dumbfounded and happy and excited all at the same time! FINALLY!!!!!

So, Monday night rolled around....we did bath, Jammies, Milk and Mickey, just the same as we always do. Monday is usually a late night because she actually naps at day care, so we got through an entire episode of Mickey, and then we told her it was nuh night time and she grabbed Lovey and we went upstairs. Laid her down, and she really didn't even fight this time. Took a little coaxing, but for the most part, she laid right down, pressed the button on the Dream Lite a few times until I tucked her arms in, and within 10 minutes, she was OUT! Andy and I snuck out, closed her door and BOOM! DONE! This Mamma is one happy camper!!!!!!!

I know it'll probably be a little while before I will be able to leave her still awake, but I'm ok with that. We will take baby steps. This is better then it's been in almost 2 months, so I'll take it!

Thank you Dream Lite! Best $30 ever spent!!!

Not Sure What To Do

Since Halloween night Chloe has not been able to fall asleep in her bed. I'm not even kidding you when I say this, she was seriously the best toddler ever when it came to naps and bedtime! I could not complain! I could put her down in her bed, give her kisses, rub her back for a few minutes and boom! Done! I'd leave the room, close the door and not hear a peep out of her all night long. But, NOW?! Nope....she refuses to lay down and relax in her bed. The costumes and masks she saw on Halloween legitimately scared her. Ruined her is probably a good word to use. This has been torturous for me! Now, don't get me wrong, I love the night time snuggles that I've been getting, but when it comes down to having time to ourselves at night. We went from over 2 hours to close to UNDER an hour. Chick isn't falling asleep until close to 9pm now.....and that's only because we're on the couch watching Barney or MMCH.
I seriously don't know what to do about this?! Will she break from this? Is this just a phase that will pass? Do I need to push her to break this? Do I just let this phase pass? I'm desperate to have my good bedtime toddler back! We have tried everything. We've moved bath time back a half hour to see if she gets tired earlier, we've tried reading to her IN her bed, but she just won't lay down.....she just wants to go back downstairs. And once she starts crying, it's all over. She just won't stop. I know that if we just let her CIO, she would eventually fall asleep....(maybe) but seriously, I just can't do that to her. I feel like she's really scared in her room in the dark and I would feel way to bad about that. But, let me say something else....she isn't in complete darkness. We have a battery operated candle in there and she's got a light show thingy on her crib that shows on the ceiling. So, she's not in the dark. But, if we leave her she just screams......HELP ME!

Has this happened to you? What did you do? Did it pass? I need some advise and help please! Ok...GO!