So here we are two weeks away from the Summer Solstice, which means that it’s sort of like living in Alaska, land of the rising sun. It isn’t dark here this week until close to 10pm. Like I’ve said before, that rocks when you’re on vacation. It sucks when you have to keep some sort of schedule.
(I’m not keeping much of a schedule, but I am wrapping up at school this week and doing another zillion things)
MAM has started doing the crazy supreme-fit throwing thing she did last summer as bedtime approaches. In hindsight, I chalked up last summer’s sleep issues to the fact that she felt like crap due to her food allergies. This summer, we have no such excuse. So maybe it has more to do with the fact that she needs it to be dusk to unwind a little, and that it’s hard to sleep in a room that faces west as the sun is going down. Do they make Sleepy Time tea for toddlers???
Sort of-it’s called melatonin. This is a natural chemical your body produces, but it is darkness that triggers production. You can buy a supplement to kick start the production. We use it for our 5-year-old. I haven’t found a liquid that isn’t gluten free, but we buy the lozenges at Whole Food and cut it in half for her.
She’s out like a light within 10 minutes of bedtime.
I hear you. We’re not having the fits, but half the nights, we have a toddler staying awake for 1 to 2 hours (albeit quietly and staying in his bed) after I put him down…. Still waking up the same time, of course…
Love sleepTime tea (for me) with a dash of milk. At work, I’ve used the Tension Tamer herbal tea, too. Nice box w/ a dragon on it…
I’ve also had a PMS herbal tea from The Republic of Tea – can’t think of the name right now. It has a ton of stuff in it – and an unusual flavor. Just a hint of chicory or licorice or something…
I think I might be out of sorts if it didn’t start getting dark until 10 PM…
Hi from NCLM – I’m an allergy mom too. My DS is allergic to egg, tree nut & fish. We haven’t had to use the epi yet but we always have it handy. (he’s 3.5 yo) I cruised aroudn a bit and I think MAM is allergic to dairy & maybe intolerant of gluten? I think there’s a strong probability of her outgrowing both of those, I will keep my fingers crossed for you! (we are likely to outgrow egg but not the other two. Grrr).
I hope to have some allergy friendly recipes on my blog, though they may not fit you 100% since they’ll have dairy (though I understand soy milk usually substitutes well, and earthbalance spread for butter). I only have a couple of recipes for now but perhaps you’ll stop by sometime. If you’ve never had polenta, it’s a delicious alternative to noodles – I’ve just discovered it in the past month or so and am loving it – had it for supper tongiht 🙂
All the best in getting yourselves down for sleepy time …
I’ve just posted the answers to “Truths and Lies.” Please stop by and see if you guessed correctly! 🙂
http://lupuspie.blogspot.com
Thanks for your comment today!
I LOVE your blog layout! Sooo awesome. Did you design it yourself?? Sorry about the sleeping troubles with your little one, can you buy some kinda heavy curtain to keep it darker or something?? Hope you figure it out!