TIPS & TRICKS FOR SLEEP DEPRIVED PARENTS

These are 5 tips/tricks that we have used in dealing with our “high needs” child/toddler (see tabs: what is a “high needs” child and chronicles of a “high needs” child) who loathes sleeping on her own:

1.) 100% Cotton sleep wear and bedding are a MUST.  After giving your child a bath in tepid water dress them in cotton clothing.  This piece of advise was one we got from our pediatrician.  Cotton is extremely breathable. We noticed that if we didn’t put our daughter in cotton pajamas or bedding that she would be extremely finicky, sweat, and kick off her sheets.

2.) Forget the night light! Without fail if there was a source of light coming into the bedroom while our daughter was fast asleep she would abruptly wake up.  When all the lights are off she sleeps soundly.

3.)  A life size stuffed animal. With a life sized stuffed animal lying next to our daughter she thinks that someone is there beside her. And she doesn’t need to be held the entire night.  A win-win for both parent and child.

4.) Tucking and rolling of blankets.  We have been successful at getting our daughter to sleep in her own bed for a few hours with this method.  What do you do? We tuck her like a burrito into the blanket we are holding her in.  As she drifts off to sleep we then take 2 sizable blankets and roll them both up.  We place one on each side of her in the bed.  She is more constricted which is said to mimic the womb.

5.) A Sound machine.  My husband and I asked our parents if they ever used a sound machine to help us sleep. They both shrugged, umm no.  Even though my husband does need to have a fan directed towards his face to sleep. I digress, this device has helped work wonders in regards to our daughter staying asleep for hours. However it isn’t any sound on the sound machine, her sound of choice is white noise (via trial and error).

Do you have a child that hates to sleep? What tips/tricks have you used to help them? Feel free to post below and subscribe if you like our content. Also Like us on FB and twitter at growingupgupta.com.