Round the clock feeding, long nights, middle-of-the-night diaper change, dancing them to sleep- you thought that was it, right? Then they turn two. Now they start throwing fits (probably in public) and what about THE attitude, huh? But wait a minute, is that really it? We all know the phrase: TERRIBLE TWO because a lot of kids start to- how do I put this- CHANGE when they turn two. Other kids start acting all independent, some gets all clingy and the energy? Don't even get me started on energy because man, my daughter? I don't think she ever runs out of it.
Everyday gets more and more hilarious than the day before. She learns new things and how to say them. I make it to a point to teach her atleast 1 phrase and a couple of words; how to say them and when to use them. We also watch a lot of Disney movies together! She knows every Toy Story character, from Andy all the way up to Lotso- Beauty and the beast? She also knows every character. Screen time isn't that bad so long as it's not too much. I make sure that she understands it when I say that it's time to stop watching and that "we can watch again another time". Read + Nurse is like the best combination. She asks to read a book while nursing so we're pretty much always occupied. We converse a lot; she knows when to say "Sorry" and "Excuse me" (thanks to all those YouTube videos now the song is stuck in my head). She knows all the colors + she's really good with age-appropriate puzzles. Have I also mentioned that Arya runs like a cheetah?
Anyhoo as you all know, I am a single mom (and proud) so I'm the one in charge. I started sleep training when Arya was four months old (we've been living on schedule since then) and sometimes, to be honest I regret the sleep training part because I didn't get to enjoy a lot of things during that time. We kind of skipped the long nights, the bonding and stuff. But then I look at us now and I see a happy toddler who's always well slept, well rested so it's all good although since she turned two (and a few weeks before) we have been going through some "changes" for about a month now and it doesn't look quite good like what is happening? From a predictable schedule to wtf is going on real quick! She's been sleeping in, wakes up around 7am, takes a too long nap and then pushes her bed time up to 8:30 which let me tell you, is suuuper late for us because her usual bedtime is only @ 7pm TOPS and with me, well I can only stay up until 10pm- Anytime past that and I'm already like a zombie. Shh, mama needs her sleep, too
Here's what our normal schedule looks like:
7:00 Wake up + a little bit of playtime
8:30 Breakfast
9:30 Morning bath
11:00 Snack
11:30 Nap time (for about 2 hours)
1:30 Lunch + play time
4:00 Snack (we sometimes go to the mall and then come home around 5:30)
6:00 Bath
6:30 Dinner
7:00 bedtime
7:30 goal to be asleep
What our schedule looks like now:
8:00 Wake up (sometimes as early as 6am)
9:30 Breakfast
10:00 (sometimes even later) Morning bath
10:30 Snack
12:00 Nap (she can go up to 3 hours!)
2:30 Lunch + playtime until she gets tired which NEVER HAPPENS
6:00 Bath
7:00 Dinner
8:30 goal to be asleep (sometimes even 9pm)
This doesn't seem much but for us who have been living on schedule since forever, it really gets to us. Not a lot of people understand this because "just let her stay up for as long as she wants". But that's the thing about toddlers- they think they don't need sleep but they do. Brain development + sleep always go together. Toddlers still need 12 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period and I've been researching for reasons on why this is happening;
Arya is now 24 months and there's a lot of things going on: she's cutting her two year old molars, she's growing up, she's starting to learn what she wants, she's thinking more play less sleep, just basically learning how to live. And then there's this thing that I kind of always hated; sleep regression. You'd think it's over because you got through the 4th month regression, the two to one nap transition, haha who you kiddin'? Here's
Everything you need to know about sleep regression from the site where I learned everything I know about baby's sleep.
It used to bother me, her all of a sudden becoming so unpredictable. I think that's just me who hates the fact that my little girl is not so little anymore and that I don't really enjoy change. But time passes by so quickly and change is inevitable so after reading and reading and realizing that things don't last forever, I've just learned to make the best of it. We spend the rest of our bedtime routine playing and talking and singing until she gets tired no matter how late it gets. I know the best way to get through sleep regression is to just stick to the routine and I'm doing my best to stay consistent but it doesn't have to be a bumpy ride. We're sticking to the schedule but now it's more fun and we're enjoying all the extra time we have because this regression, too, shall pass.
-E. x
For sleep training tips and pep talks, go read:
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