Agenda

This month has flown by.  A lot has actually happened in a short time.  My in-laws came for a visit last week Tuesday, and just left today.  They came with an agenda.  Well, they came to spend quality time with the Babe and us.  But they also came with a plan.  Their goal was to fix a few things, such as the remaining hurdle for potty training, as well as the fact that the Babe was sleeping most nights in bed with me, forcing my husband out of our bed.  Well, the potty training issue actually solved itself.  As I previously mentioned, all it took was a little quiet time with our sitter, and voila!  That issue seems to be taken care of.

The other issue really just took some consistency and a schedule.  Bedtime prior to my in-laws visits involved her watching t.v. in our room, falling asleep way too late, then either sleeping the rest of the night in our bed, or being moved to hers, then her somehow finding her way into our room in the middle of the night. 

Two things curbed the bedtime problem.  First was getting the Babe to actually stay in her bed all night long.  My child who doesn't seem to bend to bribing has suddenly found an interest in coins and her piggy bank.  I told her one night that if she stayed in her bed all night while Papa and Gram were here, she'd get a quarter in the morning.   That first morning she woke up, and barely awake announced that she'd slept in her bed all night and wanted money for her piggy bank.  Well, she's getting rich, but its worth it. The second element of improving bedtime involved getting her to bed at a more reasonable time.  My in-laws offered to watch the Babe while we got away for two nights.  During that time, they got the Babe to bed at the same time each night.  We are continuing what they started.  Its great that she's staying in her bed all night long.  The only negative is when she wakes in the middle of the night she wants to snuggle in her bed with me.  It was easier when I didn't have to get out of bed, but eventually this to shall pass.