Is There Such A Thing As A Perfect Sleep Space...

Wowzers, am I shattered today or what - and this is something else I may delve into fully once I'm back in my blogging swing-of-things a little more, Willow's need for not that very much sleep at all...

...unfortunately...

It's such an elusive thing in this house, something we have sought help for from numerous agencies over the past few years.

I've attended sleep workshops to try and help but nope, Willow really isn't one of those kiddies that requires her full eight hours to function - in fact she manages rather well on less than half of that sometimes...

But it is something we are always striving to help her with - for all of our sakes as much as hers if I'm honest - I'm full on Sleepless Zombie Mum most days.

And some of this help came in the form of thinking about the room where she sleeps...

We created a calm visual environment...

 

Bright colours and boxes overflowing with toys were never going to cut it for her room - if anything they would just provide an opportunity for extra playtime and she would just trash the lot in a heartbeat...creating an environment a world away from anything sleep inducing.

We focused on creating a calm environment that would hopefully - at some-point - help trigger a relaxing, "lets sleep" mood in her.

We used neutral colours - white, cream, and greys - and left the bright, bold primary colours for the playroom where her toys are kept...

Image located at Pixabay - License CC0

We figured that easily controlling the light in her bedroom would be a fairly smart move and we decided, straight away really, that investing in blackout curtains was the way to go - limiting the amount of sunlight creeping it's way into the room too early in the morning, disturbing the little sleep she has was a no-go situation for us.

We have also considered using a smart light with a dimmer as they can be very helpful especially as they can be set to gradually reduce the light in the room slowly for around 30 minutes - something that can help release naturally occurring melatonin and begin to trigger those important "sleepy feelings".

 

Make it a space they love...

 

Another thing we found helpful was to create Willow's Perfect Sleep Space; a place she liked and wanted to spend time in.

We choose her favourite character bedding and she has a few of her favourite teddies in there with her, but on the whole, it is a fairly chilled space where she doesn't play during the day, it is a bedroom and that is where she sleeps.

And after spotting some of the pieces from the Cuckoolands cabin bed collection - well, I think they would make a very welcome bedroom addition in her eyes.

Not only do the beds provide a comfortable space to sleep, but they come in all sorts of fun designs, and let's be honest, who doesn't want to sleep in a teepee, a treehouse, or a beach house - she would absolutely adore them.

 

And, as I mentioned above, we totally de-cluttered her room - there are no toys in there at all, just a few choice items like her night-light, a few books and her most favourite cuddly toys.

We made sure her bed was super comfy, she has super soft bedding, a weighted-blanket and lavender pillow spray every night, just to make her feel as comfortable as possible - a child with sleep issues really does need all the help they can get to drift off into the land of nod...

 

Providing relaxing sounds...

 

And finally, something we have found really helpful is to continue to use Willow's white noise toy from birth (seriously, if it ever breaks it will be replaced in a heart-beat - we rely on it that much!).

It is not only a comfort to her as she has had it since the day before she was born, but the noise helps to block out any other external sounds from the rest of the house or from the street outside - super important as she is just nodding off, but it also provides a comforting sound that really does help sooth her to sleep - especially during her many through-the-night-wakings.

I wouldn't be without it...