Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Healthy sleep, happy family (+ Liv’s new room!) http://ift.tt/28PfRQC

This post is sponsored through my partnership with Sleep Number. 

I mentioned before that we were having some sleep struggles. Liv wasn’t sleeping well in her bed, so we ordered a cot for her to use in our room. (The rule was that she had to go to sleep in her own room, but during the night, she could come into her cot quietly.) I didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t come into our room if she got scared during the night, especially since I used to do the exact same thing and would sleep in a laundry basket on my parents’ floor because I wanted to be close to them. Well, guess what hasn’t been used much at all lately.
 
Yep, the cot.
 
And it’s all because of this right here.

Livis room 5

Livi’s room was due for a bit of a re-design. Even though she had lots of cute toys and furniture, it felt very dark and cluttered. The energy was “off” and her twin bed already seemed quite small for her long legs (and sideways sleeping position she’ll often assume).
 
Here’s the before picture:
 
IMG 9086
 
When Sleep Number offered us the opportunity to order a new bed, we chose one for Liv in hopes that she would sleep better. This means we would ALL be more well-rested.
 
She was so excited when her SleepIQ Kids™ bed arrived. She picked out new bedding and accessories, and we put everything together. (We = the Pilot. haha) 
 
Here she is “surfing” on her new bed before the rest of the bedding arrived:
 
IMG 9158 2
 
The finished product:

Livis room

Livis room 3 

Livis room 6

 
Livis room 4
 
I bagged up toys she no longer uses and reorganized the storage bins under the bed and in her closet. The energy is so much better (much brighter and more calm!) and the new SleepIQ Kids bed is a DREAM.

Livis bed

Headgehog

 
Some of the benefits of her SleepIQ Kids bed:
 
-SleepIQ® technology, so you can see how well the entire family is sleeping. You can add stars to reward for good sleep
 
-Just like any Sleep Number bed, you can adjust the mattress firmness from your phone. Since the Sleep Number® setting can always be adjusted, it grows and changes with your child
 
-With this bed, we also have an optional head tilt, which is perfect for stories before bed or when she has a cold
 
-You can set the app to alert you if your kiddo jumps out of bed during the night 
 
-An under-the-bed light to illuminate the floor (also can be shut off from your phone)
 
-LIV ACTUALLY SLEEPS WELL, AND STAYS IN BED. She rarely uses the cot anymore, unless she just wakes up super early, then she’ll come chill in the cot until I’m ready to wake up and start the day. It is now very rare for her to come into our room in the middle of the night. I think it’s happened twice since we changed her room, and once was when she was sick. 
 
Since Liv is sleeping well, we’re all sleeping much better around here, which makes for a happier family all around. It’s funny because it wasn’t until we had kids that I noticed how invaluable sleep truly is. With babies, sleep begets sleep. If the baby is napping well, they’re more likely to get a full night’s sleep, and an overtired baby is way more challenging to put down for naps. The same goes for toddlers, preschoolers, kids, and adults. We all have more energy and happier moods if we’re well-rested. 

Reading in bed

 
Reading 2
 
(Tom snapped the pic and I was standing out of the frame in case P decided to start crawling.)
 
Sleep is critical for our entire family, and I’m so happy that Liv is getting some quality zzz’s in her new Sleep Number bed.
 
Do you have any bedtime routines that you follow each night? How many hours of sleep is your personal magic number?  If you’re looking for a new routine, check out these tips from Sleep Number.
 
We usually will give the girls a bath and do story time, and we alternate nights reading stories to Liv and putting P down for bed. I’ll usually end the evening with a glass of wine, catch up some loose ends with work, and read or meditate for a while before crashing out. My magic number of sleep hours is 8, but I’m happy with 7. 
 
xoxo
Gina


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