05/21/2024
In honor of my son, Ethan, "graduating" from the Toddler Stage, I will be posting Tips on Raising Toddlers that helped our kiddos and family as Full-Time Ministers.
😴 Tip #1: HAVE A SLEEP SCHEDULE 😴
Sleep training is NOT SOLELY to get your baby to sleep through the night. Sleep Training is having an AGE-APPROPRIATE SLEEP SCHEDULE for your toddler.
For Ethan, our life (at that time) demanded for me to sleep train him at 7 weeks. And boy! I'm forever grateful for it!
✨️ TOP BENEFITS OF SLEEP TRAINING ✨️
1. It put me and my baby/toddler on a predictable schedule. 🕑😴
- Knowing when my kiddo is going down for a nap and bedtime allows me to predict and plan when to get things done... and predictable schedules are EVERYTHING! It allows me and my husband to schedule our dates and appointments (bible studies, doctor appointments, phone calls, counseling times, traveling, etc). It, ultimately, help keep my sanity, and the babysitters know what to do!
2. It lessens the tantrum. 😌🤌
- Kids with adequate sleep are pleasant kids to be around! Sleepy or tired toddlers tend to be more emotional, "rowdy", easily overstimulated, and have difficulty responding to commands/discipline. Whenever my toddler seemed to be "out of whack" or doing things out of the ordinary, my go-to solution is to reset the sleep schedule or check their nutrition intake for that day (obviously, this doesn't account for major life transitions, going to daycare, moving places, traveling, etc).
3. It makes attending church meetings "easier". ⛪️🙏
- I sleep-trained the kids around the Church meeting schedule (Matt. 6:33). Because of it, I am able to feel at peace whenever I leave my kiddos to babysitters to attend nighttime church meetings. It also allowed the babysitters to tune in to the online service they are missing since my kiddos' bedtime is arranged before the service starts. (This helped me to feel guilt-free whenever asking for help with my children). And for the afternoon naps, it allowed me to prepare and make arrangements whenever I have afternoon meetings.
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My main resource to learning sleep-training is the book BabyWise and blogs about it! There are different methods of sleep training. Do what you feel comfortable the most doing! Sleep training will require 1 week to 1.5 weeks of buckling down. It needs your full attention and consistency for it to work. Your "normal" world will stop during this period, but I promise you, it's worth it!!!
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✨️DM me if you need help or have any questions!✨️
