How I Finally Got My Preschooler to Sleep - If you feel like you've tried everything to get your little one to sleep, I have one more idea for you!
I remember when the kids were infants and Josh and I wondered if we'd ever sleep again. As the years went by, sleep schedules continued to improve. . .especially for our son, Dane. Our daughter, Cora, was a bit of a different story. As a toddler she'd often wake during the night, calling for me. Or she'd just scream as loud as she could until I showed up at her door. As a parent, you try everything you can. . .just to make it stop. . .to get some uninterrupted sleep.
I've always been a firm believer in consistent bedtime routines. . .having the kids take a relaxing bath, dimming the lights, reading books. . .it really does help. But now that Cora's in preschool, she's been experimenting with some new tactics like. . .
- "I'm thirsty."
- "I need to go to the bathroom."
- "There are shadows in my room."
- "I'm not tired."
- "Can I play in bed for awhile?"
We also receive visits from her to our bedroom, where we hear things like. . .
- "I just wanted to give you a hug."
- "Can I pet Belle?"
- "I have a joke I want to tell you."
- "I'm scared."
- "Can you come and sleep on my floor?"
The last one kills me. Literally. It kills my back. I slept in her room ONE night when she wasn't feeling well. Little did I know she would remember that night for all eternity. Why do kids remember EVERYTHING, especially the things you don't want them to?
Long story short, Cora is usually looking for me. Sometimes it's just for a hug and she'll crawl back in bed. Other nights it's not as easy, and Josh and I are graced with multiple visits from her (to our bedroom). She likes to prolong her before-bedtime rituals each and every night. In the morning, however, she wants to sleep in, and it's like dealing with an angry, hibernating bear.
It all had become a bit of a vicious cycle. I knew I needed to put an end to it.
Becoming a bit desperate, I started thinking outside of the box. I discovered a Bluetooth-enabled portable speaker and soother called SoundBub. . . and I had big plans for it.
No, Cora isn't an infant anymore, but I saw the potential to use SoundBub in a few different ways that could help everyone in our family get a better night's sleep.
SoundBub is a unique soother, in the sense that it actually connects to an app (WavHello’s VoiceShare app to be exact). The app makes it possible to control the soother remotely, allowing you to:
- Talk in real-time to your child through the soother.
- Record a voice message from yourself or a loved one that may be traveling or live far away.
- Play music from playlists you create. Soundbub can be paired with any Bluetooth-enabled device to play the music you already love!
- Activate white noise tracks. SoundBub comes pre-loaded with two white noise tracks that you can activate with one touch of the soother's “bellybutton”. More white noise tracks and other soothing content can be accessed within the VoiceShare app. In fact, I was able to download 12 tracks of instrumental pop hits for Cora for free right through the app!
- Sing a song to your child and record it! The app makes it possible to mix and edit your own song creations - karaoke style!
Pretty cool, right? Want to know how I've been using it and what's really made the difference for us? I knew you would!
Before bed each night, I read Cora a book of her choice from off the shelf in her bedroom. While I'm reading, I record myself on the SoundBub. After we say goodnight, I leave a little lamp on in her room and she follows along in the book one more time while playing back the recording of me reading the book to her.
Quick note: Sometimes when my husband, Josh, needs to be out of town for work he'll record himself reading a book and I surprise her with the recording of Daddy and the book that he read - she LOVES that! Josh has even used the app to tell her goodnight when he's away from home.
When she's finished with the book, she turns off the light and I start the music for her from our bedroom with the app.
SoundBub has a timer that you can set if you don't want it to play all night. I always set her timer to 30 minutes. It gives her plenty of time to get through the book and also listen to her music before falling asleep.
This, my friends, has been working beautifully. She's excited to go to bed at night and she loves being able to listen to her story a second time all by herself.
By the time she's finished with the story, her eyes are heavy and the music helps relax her and put her to sleep. So, yep, that's how I finally got my preschooler to sleep!
The SoundBub soother isn't just for infants. In fact, my almost 8-year-old son has requested to have one for his room as well. He's trying to choose between the owl and the bear. Between you and me, I think he'll go with Benji the Bear.
If your toddler or preschooler is struggling with bedtime, I highly encourage you to try SoundBub. I love that you can control it from outside of the child's room, and it gives you so many fun options I've never seen with any other soother on the market.
I'd love to hear your ideas for more creative ways to use SoundBub to help soothe your child to sleep!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
joannerambling
Oh the memories, I had struggles getting my girls to sleep at night way back when thankfully those days are gone
Sara
And you got through it, didn't you?! We're getting through it, too. Now I struggle to wake her up in the morning! I'm not sure it's going to get any better in her teenage years! 🙂
Ann Anderson
This is so amazing ! My daughter is due to have her baby girl (and our first grandchild ! ) in 3 weeks and I can't wait to share this information on Soundbub with her. She did receive a lullaby soother/sound machine at her shower but that has become quite basic compared to this. By the way, I also live in Wausau, on Bos Creek Drive, near NTC. I love your blog !
Sara
Well, nice to meet you, Ann! Thanks for taking time to comment and best of luck to your daughter! Oh, and a big congratulations to you. I think your daughter and your new granddaughter would love the Soundbub!
Ann Anderson
You are very welcome Sara. I will give you an update down the road on our Soundbub experience.
Sara
Sounds great, Ann!