Ms.Aadya has always been a light sleeper.Even when she was a baby,she would take mini-power naps and wake up fresh.But,her bedtime has been my most troubled time of the day,since we moved to melbourne.Trust me,in the last 2 and half years that we have lived here,I have tried so many things and given up.I have ranted a lot about this. I have been frustrated,she is irritated and scared and dilly dallies more,making me angrier..Its a vicious circle.I read up about this-got books,googled etc.

 Most sources suggested putting her to bed and leaving the room. I tried that and she just cried and cried and cried-breaking our hearts.Next I tried putting her to bed and staying in the room,reading or working on the laptop;that didn’t work either.She just took even longer to sleep. I cut down her afternoon naps and then she was falling asleep at 7.00pm and waking up fresh in an hour. I even tried letting her stay up till she couldn’t any more..And she would happily stay up till even after midnight if  we let her. There was no escaping the screaming and tears,really it was irritating and frustrating.

Then,two nights back,she didn’t fall asleep till midnight,despite being in bed since 10:00 pm.That was the last straw.We were both super cranky next morning and I just had to give it another go.  So,I let her stay up all day.No naps.TV time was restricted to 2 hours v/s 4-5 and no TV after lunch.I don’t like her watching too much TV,but I have been sick and TV is the most convenient baby sitter. So,I was saying,restricted TV time.After lunch,we just read,did puzzles,or just pretend played and rested.I finished cooking in the afternoon,as against evenings and so,we could go out to the park or for a walk,in the evening.

After we returned from the walk,she would have her shower and then we’d finish dinner,play some and start the bed-time routine and be in bed between 8:15-8:30. This is where I brought in the major change.Instead of sitting with my book or laptop,I turned off all the lights and cuddled with her,told her a story without a book,cuddled some more and the poor thing was out in 10-15 minutes.And I can’t tell you,how much relaxed I am after getting some me-time.And more importantly,she is well rested in the morning and so much happier.

This proves to me yet again that parenting is all instinct..what may work for 10 others,may not necessarily work for you.Its upto you,as a parent to find the right thing for you and your child.So,far I have only tried this for two nights,but,I know we have got a breakthrough in our bedtime problem.

In other news,today was the second day at Kinder and it was alright too.Aadya came home and rattled off a few names and also,told me that one of the little girls played with her.:)