I have not been shy here about my challenges getting my daughter to sleep in her own bed. She is not an infant or a toddler or even the appropriate age to be just transitioning to her own bed. She has her own bedroom with a beautiful princess loft bed complete with a slide to joyfully exit each morning. She has every nighttime sleep aid ever shown on a “seen on TV” commercial. We’ve purchased every cute and cuddly light up toy she’s spotted in drug stores. She designed her own stuffed friend and I sewed the creativity keepsake for her to sleep with. We’ve used reward charts with the promise of new pets in exchange for a full chart. And still, my sweet five year old daughter is cuddled up to her daddy and I every single night. She doesn’t start in her own bed and then wander in to sleep with us in the middle of the night. She starts in our bed and sleeps there until morning. She also naps in our bed because it has been close to impossible to get her to fall asleep in her own room. Thankfully, while browsing social media one morning exhausted after a long night trying to sleep with my daughter stretched across our bed, I came across Kitty Night Night. They sent me their packaged solution to bedtime blues and hopefully I’ll be reclaiming my bed with the help of Kitty Night Night soon.
I fully respect the idea of co-sleeping and think it’s wonderful if it works for your family. We never intended for our daughter to sleep in our bed. She was just over one year old when she started climbing out of her crib. We transitioned to a toddler bed early for her safety when climbing out her crib happened every nap and at bedtime. The first month trying to get her to stay in her bed was beyond challenging. She was determined to change our minds about the plan to get her to sleep in her own bed in her room. She would scream, SCREAM, for hours. After consulting with our pediatrician we decided to stick to our routine and continue the sleep training in her bed. The first night her screaming fit only lasted an hour my husband and I crept into her bedroom. We were hoping to see her comfortably sound asleep in her bed. Instead she was sleeping on top of her changing table. We took her into our bedroom to sleep and the next day removed everything she could climb in her bedroom. The dresser was in a locked closet door and the changing table moved to a tiny bathroom. Months later she finally started to willingly sleep in her bed and we felt triumphant.
Just before she turned three years old she started getting comfortable in our bed. My husband traveled for work a lot and getting to cuddle at night time when he was home was sweet. When my husband was traveling and I was up working late in my home office it was easier for me to let her stay asleep in our bed instead of coming into my office every 10 minutes begging me to let her stay up. I am not proud of our approach but it worked for our family at the time. Now she’s five and still sleeping with us. It’s time to reclaim our bed with help from Kitty Night Night.
Kitty Night Night is a bedtime routine in a box. It’s a packaged solution to the challenges of getting your children to sleep in their own bed. With their own difficult experience with sleep training, the creators of Kitty Night Night designed an amazing product.
The Kitty Night Night tiger comes with magical protective powers to help your child feel safe in their own room. It’s not about bribing them to sleep in their bed with a cute stuffed animal. Trust me, obviously I know that doesn’t work. The Kitty Night Night bedtime story is creatively illustrated and explains how the tiger is there to watch over your child while they sleep. The tiger cannot be touched or it will lose the magic. Placing the tiger on a shelf or close to your child’s bed is most ideal and comforting.
With the powers working both night and day, your child should be napping and sleeping in their bed at night with Kitty Night Night nearby.
The reward chart is a great incentive and will demonstrate your child’s progress. Self satisfaction feels so much better than a new toy and your child will be so proud of themselves as they see their progress.
We read the story last night and my daughter’s task for the day is finding the perfect place in her bedroom for Kitty Night Night to watch over her. I’m crossing my fingers we will soon be sleeping in our bed with out a five year old stretched out in the middle!
Learn more about Kitty Night Night by connecting with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Was it challenging for you to get your children to sleep in their own beds too?