Getting My 2 Year Old to Sleep on his Own

       I often go through things and wonder how many other people are going through the same thing. I look for information online and never seem to find the answers I'm looking for and it's really frustrating... My youngest son is 32 months old and up until a month ago, I couldn't get him to sleep in his own bed.
     
       I tried everything. This is my third child and I never had any issues with my first two kids. They have been sleeping in their own rooms since they were 6 months and in their own space (not in my bed) since the day they came home from the hospital. My youngest, however, is a whole different story.

      I do have to acknowledge that he went through many things the two older kids did not. He was in the Special Care Unit for 7 days after he was born. I didn't even get to see him until 24 hours after he was born. When we finally brought him home he had terrible reflux an had to sleep propped up or he wouldn't sleep at all. As soon as he cried he had to be calmed or the mess you had to clean up was 10 times worse than jumping to give him attention.

      As if that wasn't enough, he was 6 months old when I had to have an operation for a herniated disc. Recuperation was slow and I wasn't allowed to pick him up (nothing heavier than 5 pounds). That led to me moving out of my room to my sons' room and having them move into my room with my husband. I couldn't risk having someone accidentally bump into my healing wound at night or my recovering leg from the pinched nerve as a result of the herniation.

      Due to all this, my youngest felt that my room was his as well. So getting him out of our bed was an uphill battle. We would put him in his bed and he would get up. We would put him back down and he would get back up. I don't know how many of you have watched Supernanny, but he never got worn out from the process. He could spend the whole night getting back up so we had to take him back to bed. The result was a sleepless night for us and him being able to take naps the next day but us being extremely exhausted.

      He has never taken long naps either. He takes two 30 minute power naps that let him have energy for the rest of the day. I really wish I had his energy!  Eventually we gave up on that idea and tried having him fall asleep in our bed and carrying him over to his. This resulted in him sleeping in his own bed for about 10 minutes, which is the time it took him to realize he had changed beds. Another failed attempt!

       Finally I opted for something most parents would gasp at, but I let him fall asleep watching TV in his own room and leave the TV on all night. He loves all the Nick Jr characters and most of the DVDs have automatic play so they keep playing over and over. Now if he wakes up while in his bed he won't go running to my room. He sees the TV on and goes right back to sleep.

      Around 6 or 7AM he comes running into my room and I ask him if he slept all night in his bed. He answers yes, and I tell him I am very proud of him. This makes him happy. Now when he comes to my room in the morning he announces that he slept in his bed all night. I immediately say how proud I am and he goes off happily.

      I've come to realize that it's OK to try your own methods every now and then. We as parents can't get flustered because what seems to work for everyone else, doesn't work for us. Each child is different and each situation is different. Will he sleep with the TV on forever? No. As he gets older and understands certain things, he will sleep with the TV off. For now, it works. He sleeps all night and we can finally stop walking around like zombies on autopilot.

Children's Place Sale

Children's Place is having a sale and from March 13 to April 8 for every $40 you spend on one transaction (in store or online) you will get $20 Place Cash. These can be used on your next purchase of $40 or more. As an added bonus use code Q4G2012 to receive an extra 15% off.

Can this deal get any better? Yes! Shop through Shop At Home and get 10% cash back. Click here to take advantage of this offer today.

$25 Gift Card from American Express

American Express is offering a $25 American Express Gift Card for FREE when you purchase the American Express Prepaid Card. Enter coupon AEPC25 when you order the Prepaid Card. Load the card with a minimum of $25 within 45 days (prior to April 30, 2012) to receive the $25 gift card. Click here to take advantage of this opportunity now!

Save at Children's Place

Today Only: Free shipping at Children's Place. You can get 20% of your order with code D7FQ5KTM22. If you go through ShopatHome you also get 8% cash back (usually 3%). Take advantage of this offer today.

TruMoo Milk Coupon

If you are looking for a chocolate milk coupon, here is a good one for TruMoo. Go to the TruMoo website and click the tab on top that says Milk Coupon. Fill out the information and if it's available in your area, you will be redirected to print out a $0.55 off a half gallon or larger TruMoo milk.

My kids love chocolate milk and I am always on the lookout for TruMoo coupons. Click here now.

Shop Taste of Home $5 Book Sale

Shop taste of home is having their $5 book sale until February 27, 2012. Shipping is free with $20 worth of purchases.

If you shop through ShopAtHome you can also get 7% Cash Back. So stock up on cookbooks and children's books today. Take advantage of this offer today.

$5/5 Kelloggs Cereal Coupon

Head over to Coupons.com and print the rare $5/5 Kelloggs cereal coupon. Use zipcode 84121. Hurry, these always go fast!

Flowers for Valentines

Living Social has a great deal on flowers from Teleflora. Pay $25 and get up to $50 worth of flowers. Check it out right here.

No Spending Month

As you all know, I have been working towards becoming debt free. By the end of this month I will have paid off my lowest owing credit card and will be half way through my second one. To help us along, we have also declared this month our no spending month.

What will this consist of? We will not eat out. We will not buy anything non-essential. We will not go out to the movies or rent or buy movies. We will pay all our bills and go grocery shopping, but our budget for grocery shopping has been reduced by half for this month.

I will be posting our progress. Wish us luck!

Win Cash to Fund a Super Bowl Party!

We have paired up with Family Centsability to host a Cash giveaway to help fund a Super Bowl party.

Enter here to win $75.00 to help pay for your party!

12:01am EST 01/25/12 - 12:01am EST 01/29/12

The winner gets their choice of Paypal cash or a mailed pre-paid Visa gift card to use at the store of their choice! 

Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Facebook Just Because Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Facebook $10 winner is:

Katie Nelson


Congratulations!

Low Priced Magazines

Best Deal Magazines is having a great sale that ends on 01/15/12. Magazines like Shape, Family Fun, Yoga, Whole Living and others are $4.69 for a 1 year subscription. You can get them cheaper if you use code WKLYSPEC, a 1 year subscription for $3.76.

If you go through Ebates you also get 10% cash back. Don't miss out on this opportunity to start the new year with your favorite magazines at great prices!

P&G Samples and Coupons

Head over to P&G and request your free samples and coupons. You can request once per quarter and they have a large selection of samples and coupons available so click all that interest you.

$0.97 Nexcare Bandages at Walmart after Cash Back

Nexcare bandages assorted colors 25 count is available on Shop at Home's WILD deal today. It's free after cash back but shipping is $0.97. So you get the bandages for $0.97 after cash back. Go to Shop at Home and get this deal now. Click here.

Starting off the New Year Right

Hello Everyone! The new year has begun and as usual, we are all excited! The new year gives us a chance to make new resolutions and actually stick to them this time. So once again we make the same resolutions: lose / maintain weight, exercise more, eat healthier, spend less... Well, this year I'm not making a giant list of resolutions. I have a couple I would like to stick to like starting a healthy eating regimen and trying to pay off the majority of my debts so I can save more money.

The second one has a high priority for me because we would like to buy a house. So I don't want to become overwhelmed thinking about all the debt we have and how to pay it off in time. Instead, I'm making my own personal timeline (and I encourage you to join me in this endeavour). I have written down how much I owe on each account and my goal will be to pay off the small ones first. Some people like to start off with the larger ones, or the ones with higher interest rates. I believe, however, that a small account can be paid off faster and that will help you get a sense of accomplishment; making it harder to give up. I will be giving myself 2 months to pay off the first one (it's fairly small) and then I will move on to the next one.

I will be sharing my progress with you. Also, if any of you would like to join in, feel free to comment on your progress and what approach you will be taking. We are all here to help each other out.