I don’t do this often but I caved and let my daughter sleep in my bed. There were heavy storms and rain and she was scared and since she is still off for summer break I thought it would be ok.
Well she had a hard time settling down and I ended up floating off to sleep first I realized. Well when I woke up needing a snack in the middle of the night, there was still a huge pile of covers next to me so I assumed it was my daughter and she had eventually gone to bed after I did, so I sneaked out to the kitchen so I didn’t disturb her or wake her up in my room.
I took my most comfortable pillow and moved it across the house to the guest room to give my daughter some space in my room only to realize the music was on in her room and when I peeked in she must have put herself to bed in her room at some point and the pile on my bed was just blankets after all.
I felt a sense of pride knowing that she was independent enough to move from a different room across the house with her stuff all on her own, without waking me. Wow- this was a huge milestone for us! Usually she wakes me up about every little thing and I spend some nights delirious and in a haze of very limited sleep.
I think my snoring may have contributed to her leaving the room and choosing not to wake me. I know she has a hard time sleeping with my very loud, unpredictable snoring and I know she realizes I am super grumpy when I don’t get my sleep. Both of these factors could have contributed to her decision to be independent and move and put herself to bed without waking me.
My daughter’s sleep regulation and ability to put herself to bed has gotten drastically better since I have put a 5 minute limit on how long I will giver her scratches before bed, then ensuring she actually has to put herself to bed, which has been so good for her, and she has been doing so well with it lately. It is an important skill to have- to know how to wind yourself down and put yourself to bed easily and successfully. I am still working on this skill as well!
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