2012 Challenges: November- Bedtime Routine

We're back from Spain and an entire week into November, which means I better get this post written before it's too late. Thankfully, jet lag and the time change fall right in line with November's challenge. In January I made it my goal to be in bed by 11pm and I'm still struggling with sleep. It's amazing how much does and doesn't change in 11 months.

I'm still chasing the elusive consistent sleepy time that seems to baffle parents of young children. When I have gotten some consistency I found that, like many toddlers, Porter's day starts between 6-7am. I know that many adults also start their days at this time, I was one of them when I had a "regular job". Since I don't go into work however, I expect to sleep at least until the sun comes up or 8am, whichever comes later. Ha ha ha! Silly mama.

Something in my schedule had to change, so I tried to get to bed earlier (again). This lead to many nights of laying in bed with my eyes closed and checking my clock every 2-7 minutes. Even though I was in bed with the lights out, my mind and body wouldn't shut down until past 11:30pm. Old habits die hard. Then I read a story from Nancy, a sleep specialist, about how she had a medical condition which got her off her own sleep routine. I think she mentioned Downton Abby in there too, which has kept me up many a night as well. To recover, she enforced a strict bedtime routine and within a few weeks she was sleeping like a baby  regularly.

And that, friends, brings me to my November challenge: establish a sleep routine and make it to bed by 10-10:30pm. This will hopefully get me 7.5+ hours a night and alleviate the desire for naps. That is, if Porter resumes sleeping through the night after our international excursion. Don't feel too bad for me though, it was totally worth it. Here's the kicker, I've been so exhausted upon our return that I crawl into bed before 10 and promptly fall asleep. Hopefully by the end of this week we'll be back on track and will get Porter back to sleeping through the night. Oh joy, sleep training for all. Stay tuned!

Playing airport.