I've never had much trouble with my boys and sleeping, they both slept through the night at about 12 weeks old. Apart from illnesses and the occasional nightmare our nighttimes are fairly quiet.
BP has always been a heavy sleeper and can fall asleep anywhere, he once fell asleep while we were at a wedding reception (loud music and loud people). LP on the other hand is not a heavy sleeper and finds it difficult to sleep anywhere but his bed. Even when we're in the car and he's wiped out he struggles to get to sleep.
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| I'm sure LP thinks about Seuss Landing all the time! |
At bedtime we wind down with a good bedtime story but it still takes him a while to settle down. He goes up to bed at 7:30pm but sometimes he can still be awake at 9pm. I've tried getting him to sit and listen to the stories, I've tried getting him to read some of the pages, but nothing helps. Once we've read the story he still struggles to settle down.
The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep is a story that claims to be able to send your child to sleep. So much so that there's a warning in the front of the book telling you not to read it to someone who is driving!
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| Published by Ladybird books, in paperback, ebook and audiobook. Pre order/buy here: http://amzn.to/1iiKm0o |
I'll be honest and say I laughed when I read the claims, there was no way a simple story was going to put LP to sleep. He won't fall asleep when I read Dr Seuss Sleep Book so I didn't have much faith in this story either.
Before starting reading the story I read instructions (weird huh?) telling me how to read certain parts of the book. I found it a little strange being told how to read a story but I did it.
Did I think this book would make LP sleepy?
Nope.
LP sat up and listened to the story, he looked at the pictures and smiled as I read. After a couple of pages he decided to lay down, he does that sometimes but asks me to show him the pictures. I continued reading.
After a couple more pages LP began yawning and shuffling under his covers. This was a first.
Half way through the story I glanced at him and could see he was fighting to keep his eyelids open.
The more sleepy LP got, the quieter I read. I secretly hoped he would fall asleep while I was reading.
My quiet reading didn't put him to sleep, nor did the story, but he was settled.
LP was the most settled he has ever been after a bedtime story.
He fell asleep within minutes of me leaving his bedroom, to say I was impressed is an understatement.
I've read the story to LP twice since then and both times the same thing happened. In fact, each time we read this story it seems to have a bigger impact on him.
The story takes about 30 minutes to read but this might reduce once you're used to reading it.
If I was going to recommend a book to read at bedtime this would be it. The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep is a magic book, it helps my active, hyper, boy settle down at bedtime and get to sleep faster.
A must read for any parent wanting to help settle youngsters.
A must read for any parent wanting to help settle youngsters.
I was sent this book free of charge to review. All opinions are my own.