Sleep Training Day 3 & Kindergarten

I am almost afraid to say it...

I think we are making progress with Brielle.

Today is Day 3 of using the Sleep Sense Program

Night 1...She went to bed around 6:30 p.m. (Yes, there was intermittent crying as was expected, and she didn't really settle into sleep for a longggg time.) It was much like previous evenings, but we handled it according the the book this time. I nursed her awake again at 11 p.m., she woke up at 12:30 a.m., again, crying. I changed her and put her back in her crib awake and followed the program with how to deal with the crying, but I did not feed her. She fell asleep again around 1 a.m. Woke up at 4:45 a.m. I ended up nursing her awake again around 5:00 a.m. since she really did seem hungry. She fell asleep on her own and then woke up for the day at 7 a.m. This is a HUGE improvement. I cannot even tell you how awesome it was to get 3 1/2 hours of sleep in. a. row. I'm feeling optimistic.

Night 2: I'm following the books suggestions for naps and daytime routines, etc. She had a pretty good nap in the morning (from 9 to 11). She pretty much has NEVER napped this well before, so I am shocked and amazed and thrilled. The afternoon nap did not go as well. I'm not really sure why. I am trying to figure out if she should be having 2 or 3 naps as she is borderline between the two it seems.
She went to bed around 7 p.m. I followed the book's suggestions again for dealing with the crying and waking up. I nursed her again at 10:30 p.m. and again at 2:30 a.m. After the 2:30 a.m. wake up, she slept all the way until 7 a.m. This is insane progress. Like, I can't even tell you how massive an improvement this is. I'm so excited. Too bad my 2 year old decides to protest and gets up a few times in the night and is up for the day at 6:15 a.m. (he has learned how to climb over his baby gate now....ugh. Seriously, child...). I am seriously frustrated with the fact that my 2 year old (who used to be a great sleeper) has decided to act up in the night. Just when Brielle starts to improve... If it wasn't for my 2 year old, I would have had one pretty awesome night.

Day 3: We are off to a great start. She was up happy at 7 a.m., ate, had breakfast, down for nap at 9 a.m. with very little fussing this time and is just starting to stir at 10:45 .

I'm so crazy excited, nervous, and hopeful that she will soon be almost sleeping through the night that I'm afraid to even mention it...I'm just praying this progress continues and that my son will stay in bed now, too.

Homeschool

This morning I ordered the Little Hearts for His Glory curriculum from Heart of Dakota. I really, really like what I'm seeing from them and still think out of all the curriculums I've looked at, it suits my teaching style and our family the best. In later years, it's pretty heavily-centred around American History, which is a concern I've had. However, in researching curriculums, I've found that there are lots of Canadians who still use Heart of Dakota and just supplement it with Canadian material. Next year, I plan on supplementing with Donna Ward's curriculum Canada, My Country. For now, we have just been doing school very informally. We've been doing a few phonics lessons a week from the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book. We are half-way through the book. By the end, she should be reading around a Grade 2 level. We are also reading lots of books from the library, including classics like Beatrix Potter and also non-fiction books, such as Canada's Arctic Animals as one example. I am eagerly anticipating my Little Hearts for His Glory curriculum to arrive.