The Cancilla Lifestyle: Story of my life..

Right now with 2 young kids life has some major challenges and major rewards, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster everyday. You never know when there will be an up, down or a big loop.

One of my challenges we are going through right now is NOT sleeping. My 2.5 year old has always been a HORRIBLE sleeper, she didn't start sleeping through the night until around 18 months and it hasn't really stuck with her. Some weeks she does great and will sleep with no problem but other weeks she's up 2-5 times a night! She's also in a toddler bed and can open hers and our bedroom door so she wakes up and comes barging into our room, so the whole just let her cry it out in her crib doesn't work anymore.

Then my 6 month old isn't sleeping through the night either. He is such a major eater that he wakes up nurses (completely empties out my milk) and goes right back to bed no problem. He wakes up 2-3 times a night, it wouldn't be so bad if his sister would sleep but she's not doing so well with sleeping so mama is up ALL night... Lucky me.

We are currently living in the basement of my parents house and there is only 2 bedrooms down here, so KJ is in our room still.. Ahh.. So when Kaili'a wakes up and comes barging into our room she wakes him up.. Often. So thinking about sleeping training KJ to just cry it out a little bit to see if he will go back to bed is just not an option because if he crys he wakes up Kaili'a, then if Kaili'a crys (say if daddy tried putting her to bed and she wants mama so she throws a Major fit until I go in there) she wakes up KJ. It's just a horrible cycle right now.

I would love hear what you've done to help your toddlers sleep and your baby's sleep. I'm ready to sleep though the night again :-) I haven't done that since mid way through my pregnancy with Kaili'a.. Once she started sleeping I was pregnant with KJ so was up from pregnancy dis comfort...

We started a bedtime routine that really seemed to help for awhile. We start it about 20-30 mins before bed. All four of us go into Kailias room, we clean it, then she picks out two books for us to read, we say our prayers and then she gets one song. That routine turned out to be golden until recently and it still gets her to go to bed really well but the girl won't stay asleep. When she wakes up she usually is asking for water or juice or she just wants to be tucked back in. 9 out of 10 times its that easy but it still requires for me to get up out of bed and wakes me up. Then there's those times where it's a huge major fit to get her to go back to bed.

My dad says that I should get use to it because there's not much I can do and I really hope that's not true lol. Luckily I am a SAHM so if I'm tired or slow starting its fine but no one wants a tired mommy because normally for me anyways when I'm tired I'm moody.

Thank goodness for all of the up parts of the roller coaster days to make the downs not seem so bad. Kaili'a is talking so much it's so much fun to listen to her, she knows her primary colors and her normal shapes that she just amazes me. She's extremely independent and that helps when I am busy with her little brother. KJ is on the verge of sitting up by himself, he's a champ when it comes to eating and he's one of the happiest most chill babies I've ever seen.

We have so much fun throughout the day that it can help me not focus on the not sleeping issue at night so much. Life can be super crazy and super busy but I wouldnt change it for anything. I love being a mom which I never thought I would. It's the most rewarding thing I have ever done, I have been able to witness sacrifices for others so much that it's humbled me.. Extremely.. Putting someone else's needs before my own helps me be able to practice delayed gratification daily :-) it's also made mine and my own mothers relationship much stronger!