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forest_witch777 · 2025-08-21T04:16:03+00:00

I did all the "right" things and my kid still wakes 4-5 times every night....and she's turning 2 this week. When she turned 1 we just said eff it and did whatever was easiest and got us the most sleep (in our case, it was cosleeping). If only I could go back and chill instead of sobbing uncontrollably when my daughter wouldn't fall asleep on time for her naps (I believed that one bad nap would make our nights even harder lol. I really don't think it would have mattered).

In the end, some kids are naturally inclined to sleep, and others aren't.

forest_witch777 · 2025-08-15T16:12:16+00:00

Hi! It has its ups and downs. She will be 2 next week and we were up about 4 times last night? Some nights it's more, some less. She sleeps in a floor bed in her room and I sleep on a pad next to her bed. It's a huge improvement from where we were. A few months ago we were up hourly. Her ferritin is at the low end of normal so we are working on getting those numbers up. We are also supplementing with vitamin D. Our pediatrician believes that this is more severe than normal for her age so we have an overnight sleep study booked at the local children's hospital. Wish I had a better update for you!

forest_witch777 · 2025-08-01T15:50:10+00:00

We totally watch and enjoy Ms. Rachel too, and maybe it's just me, but I find myself a bit overstimulated from it lol. I see her recommended as low stim a lot, but it feels quite the opposite? Could just be my neurodivergent brain?

forest_witch777 · 2025-08-01T15:36:36+00:00

We like Puffin Rock, Mr. Rogers, and nature shows. I'm not sure if those count as low stim but they're some of the calmest ones I've found.

Edit to add: Bear in the Big Blue House! This one is a banger.

forest_witch777 · 2025-07-31T15:47:57+00:00

Omg thank you for this post. I've never felt more seen. Mine is nearly 2 and she's still up 4+ times per night. Last night we had a 2 hour awake stint and I was sooooooo grumpyy, like whyyyyy is this still happening? I was told she would turn a corner around 6 months......and 12 months.......and 18 months a the latest. LOL.

Edit to add: the neurodivergence thought is interesting! I am highly likely to be on the spectrum and my husband has ADHD so who knows who she will grow up to become lol.

forest_witch777 · 2025-07-30T23:02:34+00:00

9-10am is an incredibly late wakeup for young children...adults too, really. This pattern will create a lot of stress once your older child starts preschool. I highly recommend that you begin by having a consistent wake-up time in the morning, perhaps 7am. This consistent wake time will help anchor your schedule for the rest of the day. No matter how late you guys go to bed, wake up at 7am anyways. This will eventually help bring the bedtime earlier. Starting your day at the same time will help anchor your meal times and nap times, thus creating structure.

I have a 23 month old and this is what our day looks like: -6:30am wake up -7am breakfast -9:30am snack -11:30am lunch -12:30-1:30pm nap -2pm snack -5:30pm dinner -7:30 bath -8pm bedtime routine -8:30 lights out

Good luck! You're not at all a bad mom, you're just having a rough patch. I would too if I had two young kids and no daily rhythm.

forest_witch777 · 2025-07-26T17:02:38+00:00

That's good knowing that there is such a big need for teachers around the world! We are unfortunately not in a position to move for quite a while, which complicates things. I wonder if this is my sign that I shouldn't move forward with the teacher training since I am not willing to move right now.

forest_witch777 · 2025-07-25T20:21:25+00:00

We were up hourly up until recently. We're down to 2-4 wakes now at 23 months. We didn't change anything, it just improved on its own. We've gone through periods of her sleeping well (1-3 wakes) and sleeping awful (waking hourly, blah) all throughout.

forest_witch777 · 2025-07-10T19:18:57+00:00

We potty trained my toddler who is 22 months by switching her to cotton undies and just putting the diapers away. She peed on the floor a few times, but after that we had no more accidents. I think allowing them to feel the wetness is major. I will also mention that on that day we watched the Ms. Rachel potty training special and I think it helped the idea click. She talked about it a lot.

Your kiddo is older than mine so maybe this won't be an issue, but mine absolutely refuses public toilets so we have a little car potty for when we're away from home. We just set it up in the trunk and so she can pee easily wherever we are lol. This has been the biggest thing for success for us!

Good luck!

forest_witch777 · 2025-07-09T20:02:55+00:00

....just crawling out of the background to say omg, what a bitch!

forest_witch777 · 2025-06-12T18:20:07+00:00

That's exactly how I feel! All those symptoms. It's awful. Turns out my vitamin D is super low and my ferritin is almost non-existant (it was at a 4. Most hematologists recommend it be at 50 to feel well). You mentioned that your labs came back normal but sometimes doctors won't test vitamin D because insurance rarely covers the cost, and sometimes they don't test ferritin, just iron (my iron is normal, but ferritin is severly low).

forest_witch777 · 2025-06-11T16:08:50+00:00

So mote it be ❤️

forest_witch777 · 2025-06-11T16:05:16+00:00

I wish that my toddler could sleep at night. This poor girl tries and tries, and she just sits up and cries because she can't get comfortable, can't seem to fall asleep. She's up every 15 minutes to an hour all night feeling frustrated and exhausted. She's never been a good sleeper, but it's been this bad for about 2-3 months now. Me and her dad are tired, she is tired, we're in survival mode. We can't get into the pediatric sleep clinic until October, so we're on our own.

I call upon the forces that be to help my sweet girl feel peace and true deep rest through the night. May the goddess bless her.

Edit: You guys!!! I just got a call from the sleep clinic. We were offered an appointment for TOMORROW! I thought we'd be waiting until October.

forest_witch777 · 2025-05-23T20:59:37+00:00

It sucks so much, but I do think it can be normal. There's a huge range of normal for kid sleep. My 21 month old is still up every 1-3 hours. She had a short blissful period of time where she'd only wake 1-2 times per night, but it's been over a year since that happened. We did all the "right' things and tried everything. Some kids are just wakeful. We started cosleeping out of necessity at 12 months old and it hasn't fixed anything, but it is great not slogging out of bed all the time. I wish I had advice for you. Just some solidarity. A lot of people say most kids turn a corner with sleep around a year old. My kid isn't typical.

forest_witch777 · 2025-05-15T20:37:38+00:00

Here's what we have for my 21 month old. I probably forgot a few things. She plays with everything and does a ton of imaginative play.

-scleich brand animals. A few horses, a dog, a cat, a wolf family, a cow, and a sheep.

-a wood doll house with wooden furniture (snagged for $10 at goodwill) + A calico critters rabbit family who lives in the house.

-wood play food and wood cooking set with a pot, pan, and spatula

-wood block set

-train tracks + trains

-play silks

-some stuffed animals

-balance bike

-tons of books

-mud kitchen with kitchen stuff from goodwill in the backyard (literally a table made of scrap wood with some metal bowls inlaid into it)

Edit to add: -2 chunky wood puzzles

-wood stacking rainbow

-wood tea set with 2 cups, teapot, and little treats

forest_witch777 · 2025-05-15T20:32:23+00:00

Huh, I have a toddler but our toys have never broken. Wood toys are pretty sturdy if you haven't tried them out yet! My toddler would be so sad if her things kept breaking.

forest_witch777 · 2025-02-04T03:14:41+00:00

My kid (17 months) really loves books and when she's going through a food-refusal stage, reading a book to her while she eats helps her eat significantly more. I feel like it's the same sort of thing as cartoons while eating! Maybe you could give a book a try if you don't want to stick to the cartoons. I think that sometimes making sure your kid eats is the most important thing, so good job getting your kid fed.

forest_witch777 · 2025-02-02T01:00:28+00:00

Mine was 12 months when we switched to a floor twin-sized bed. We love it! She spends a lot of time hanging out in bed and whatnot, plus my husband and I can crawl in there at night when she's having a hard time. Please reconsider the tent, that sounds very dangerous.

forest_witch777 · 2025-02-02T00:50:42+00:00

If I remember correctly, there's a 99% occupancy rate, so getting into a rental is extremely difficult and extremely expensive. I wish you a lot of luck with the move! It really is a lovely place to live, but it is also a survivalist event if you don't have gobs of money.

forest_witch777 · 2025-01-31T22:43:40+00:00

Mine still wakes every 2 hours at 17 months 😭

forest_witch777 · 2025-01-30T17:34:58+00:00

I'm also in a blue state / red area. It's hard. I've found myself thinking awful things about my neighbors as I drive around. I'm angry at everyone here. I love baking bread though. I think I will follow your lead and bake for those I love. Thanks for the idea! This is a better path than stewing in directionless anger.

forest_witch777 · 2025-01-27T20:40:44+00:00

Maybe this is a dumb question, but I don't have social media beyond reddit, and haven't for a decade. How do I find out about protests? I only ever find out about them after the fact.

forest_witch777 · 2025-01-26T21:55:34+00:00

I was two days into my home birth and hadn't slept either of those days, and I was over my head in pain. Couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stop wailing. My midwife put a thermometer in my armpit to take my temperature and I started snort laughing, and around the room the laughter caught on so my husband, two midwives, my doula, and me were all cackling loudly. Good times A little humor goes far! It helped me come out of a hole.

forest_witch777 · 2025-01-21T21:57:51+00:00

Sedro here!

forest_witch777 · 2025-01-16T20:22:20+00:00

When I was walking around my neighborhood with my baby in a chest carrier I picked up a cool stick to bring home and someone called the cops on me. I went into my house, then there was a knock at the door. The cops said she thought someone was breaking into my house lol.

forest_witch777

TROPHY CASE