I’m sure every pregnant mother has heard, “Enjoy your sleep now, because you are not going to get any once your baby is here.”

I cringe every time I hear it!  Yes, it’s true, your sleep will be different, but it’s possible to get a good nights rest as a mom. I am happy to share that I sleep through the night without any interruptions and I have three kids! So expecting moms, don’t let those “Negative Nelly’s” worry you!

I was pretty lucky to have babies that slept well. All three of my children had a predictable sleep schedule and I was never concerned with lack of sleep at that point. Something just clicks in me and I have no problem waking each night and getting up to go to work the next morning. Yes, I am super mom! During Clover’s first year, I slept three nights through the night, that’s all! We’ve talked about sleep plenty of times at AMB and earlier this month we shared a piece on infant sleep, here.

My struggle with sleep happened once my boys turned three. We had problems and it surprised me! Everyone talks about how much an infant needs during the night, but no one talks about the frustrations of toddlers and sleep. Again, sleep is such a popular topic that we’ve also talked about toddler sleep battles as well. I’m so glad I am not alone and we definitely share in the toddler sleep battles!

• Our first step was to provide a comfortable sleeping environment. Three year olds have legitimate fears about the dark. I believe you should give them whatever tool they need to conquer their fears and feel more comfortable. Some ideas include, a flashlight, night light, stuffed animals with lights or even leaving the hallway light on at bedtime to help ease your child’s fears.

• A coworker told me about the Sleep Fairy (Isn’t there a fairy for everything!?).  The Sleep Fairy worked wonders for our boys.  We explained to the boys that the Sleep Fairy wanted to come visit. We talked about the Sleep Fairy and how exciting it would be to please her! She would leave a gift each morning if they went to sleep in their bed alone and stayed in bed all night. So each morning, they would wake up to a small gift at the foot of their bed. If they didn’t stay in bed, then no gift was left. Our gifts ranged from $1 store items, a toothbrush or even a box of cereal. We continued the Sleep Fairy for three full weeks, in order to create the new habit. After that time, the Sleep Fairy left a big gift and a note for them. The note explained that she needed to go help other boys and girls, but would check in on them often. Every now and then, she would leave another gift.

• There were many times after the Sleep Fairy’s visit that my boys wanted me to lay with them. I had to say no. They really needed to create this new habit and practice the new sleep routine or I knew I’d be laying with them again.  I love my boys and I love cuddle time, but we had to cuddle during the day. There was no going back once we started our new sleep routine.

I am so thankful that we figured out what worked for us to win the bedtime battle! They are now 5 and 7 and it’s so nice knowing that they go to bed and stay in bed all night. Occasionally, I can lay with them now to cuddle and we don’t slip back into our old habits.