Products to Survive Night Wakings

Isn't it funny how many times it is a product that provides us solution to daily issues? It wasn't until my second, Gretta, was sleeping through the night around 7 months that I realized my 2.5 year old, Holden, was capable of doing the same. Being mom it is common to feed into each child when they wake creating a common wake up issue. This leads to minimal sleep for mom and poor sleep quality for the kids. We didn't implement all of these at once, but have found resolve in all the sleep issues we have encountered at some point in each of these products. 

Products that may help solve sleep problems in babies and toddlers:

• The video monitor! I know this helped me get more sleep initially, but now that my son is old enough to understand the video monitor I believe it helps him sleep better. We play a game where he stands in the living room looking at the monitor and I am in his bedroom speaking to him in front of the camera and I lay in his bed. I then walk out and have a discussion with him about monsters and how everything is safe because I can see him. I reminded him I am always watching. I then make him go into his room and speak to him from the monitor. Letting him know if he doesn't have specific requests, I can see everything, he is safe and he needs to go back to sleep if there is no immediate need. 
• OK to Wake. This was a recommendation by an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) mom. We got clock when my first was about 2 years old. I didn't think it worked at first. Now that we have had it awhile.... it works! I also think adding it at 2  years was helpful because somewhere along the line he had started to understand what it meant. We do not allow the kids to come out of their rooms in the morning until the light turns green. Simple as that. Enforcing it is going to be your biggest battle you will love that you won. 
• Child Safety Door Locks. I have to say first that I recommend these strongly throughout the house for privacy and safety. For sleep we use these inside the door. Before you judge me, our bedroom is on the lower level of our house. It is a fear of mine the kids could get out of their rooms while we are sleeping and try sleepily to go down the stairs to get to us, though we have a gate, sometimes it gets forgotten when we are stumbling to help them in the night. Or worse, they get out and get into something they are not supposed to. We can hear most footsteps on the floor from our downstairs room, this is an extra precaution. Another recommendation would be to put a baby gate in the doorway and leave the door open. I have a monkey so this is not an option for me. 
• Sound Machine w/Light Show. We live on a busy road and get road noise so the sound machine filters the noise from the traffic. My son doesn't love the light feature so we cover it with a rag. The girls however, stare into the ceiling and it puts them to sleep since birth. The reason why my girls sleep so well? Maybe? I will say we tries many brands of sound machines and light shows with Holden, none lasted. This specific brand is AMAZING and worth a little extra expense for something that lasts. 
• Removing the toys from the room. We had one point where toys in the room were more than the kiddos could handle. It is a hard temptation to not want to play in the night for some children. Remove those toys. 
• Unscrewing light bulbs or taping the light switch. Bedtime means lights out. Light switches can be fun to play with after you have removed the toys. For some children lights switched on can mean awake the rest of the night. Take control. 

Some of these may feel extreme, but coming from a mom of 3 children ages 3 and under. I need as much sleep as I can get. If I can find a solution I will use it. I have found these options, they have worked. Reminder, things generally only work with children if you remain consistent for several weeks. Things that may not seem like they are working may feel like a god sent after two months. Stay persistent!