Flower Power

I know I am always bragging about how I have good sleepers, but Sadie has definitely started sleeping less the older she gets. I would say she started waking up around 8:00 or 8:15 after we got in our school routine in the fall. I had to wake her up earlier since I had 2 kids to get dressed, fed & out the door!

 

She normally still sleeps until 8:00 or 8:15 but every now & then she wakes up earlier. My morning routine starts at 5:30 & I usually go to the gym, swing by the grocery store, start a load of laundry, eat breakfast & get ready before 8:00. That way I have everything done before the girls are up. Yesterday I came home from the grocery store around 7:30 & she was already awake standing in the living room waiting for me. She kind of scared me when I walked in! She knew I was "exercising" (her words!) & Daddy was sleeping so she was waiting for me to get home. It really threw off my whole morning! So today I went to Target & bought this:

 

 

This is the Ok To Awake alarm clock for children. It has 2 face plates that make a green bug or a pink flower & obviously I went with the flower. It looks like a regular alarm clock with the time on it, however, when you set it, instead of it going off with an alarm, it turns bright green. I already set it for 8:00 in the morning. Hopefully, she will stay in her room until it turns green, so if she wakes up early she won't bother either of us :)

 

I was going to give it to Sadie tonight before bed, but when she came home, she saw it & was so excited so we tried the nap feature on it. She didn't get in bed until 3:00 because she had school today, so I set the alarm for 2 hours. At 5:00, it will light up bright green & she knows she can come out & play. Until then, she has to stay in her room & have quiet time :)

 

The clock also has sound, but I have decided to just use the light function for right now. I don't really want the alarm to wake her up, I just want to help use it as a guide in case she wakes up early. But I like that it turns into a teaching alarm clock as well, so when she is older we can use it in a different way. It also has a nightlight feature on it that you can use at night, so we may have to try that. Everything has automatic timers on it to not waste battery life.

 

So far nap time is going good, but we'll see how it goes tomorrow morning. She seems to understand it & I hope it works! What about you - does anyone else out there do something like this with their children?