Setting yourself up for Success

We all know what it looks like to set yourself up for failure. But how do we set ourselves up for success? Personally, I research every decision so I feel more confident and more likely to stick with a solution. I start by deciding what I want (or don't want) and then following the steps necessary to get there. This is the same way to solve a math problem, determine educational goals, and most other things in life.

 Dressed for success (and contained to get a picture)

I loved this suit. He was tolerant, for the most part.

Sleep was one of my biggest concerns when pregnant. How would I get two babies to sleep at the same time? How would I find time for sleep? I started with the research. While many great books are out there, I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child mostly because it's the one we found at Half Price books. I like the graphs of how much sleep children need by age and my favorite quote "Sleep begets sleep. It's not logical, it's biological." (I don't remember what page it was on and have since passed on my copy of the book.) With this knowledge in hand I would love to tell you how my kids were sleeping through the night at a month and how well rested we all were. That would be a huge lie though. The book even points out that before a certain age, babies shouldn't be put on a schedule. If you read the post on breastfeeding, you know sleep wasn't happening.

Not sleeping, but happy!

However, as they got older it became much easier. They both took naps at the same time and sleep through the night at the same time. Here's our plan for successful sleeping. 1. Stick to a schedule. Our kids don't do well when off schedule. I know kids who are flexible, but for us keeping nap time and a strict bed time is a must. 2. Wear them out. When they are awake, we are always on the go. They are rarely contained by a car seat, stroller, etc. We keep them busy and they keep us exhausted. 3. Watch what they eat. This one may not seem related to sleep, but if a child doesn't have a nutrient they need, they are more likely to wake up. Every meal is balanced with vegetables, whole grains, fruit, protein, and dairy. We avoid foods that cause a "crash" and don't keep kids full.

 Rolling, pulling up, and cruising are great for wearing out babies.

Nightly walk before bed

That is our plan for sleep success, but the biggest factor is LUCK. We have kids who are good sleepers. I wish I could take credit and say this is the solution and it will work for every child, but that's not true. We set them up for success and then hoped for luck. I know families who do all of this and their kids aren't good sleepers, but at least they tried!

Universal sign of being finished