We received our weighted blankets a little over a week ago.
Kits weighs 4 pounds.
Zak's weighs 11. Wow! This thing is heavy.
Kit still won't sleep at night with it covering her, but sometimes she'll nap with it, so progress!
What she will let me do at night is roll it up and squish it up next to her. She then has pressure from both sides, one side from the couch cushion, the other from the blanket. Also she has a cushion up top, so she can push against it if she wants.
We have seen much improvement at night. She let's me put her down easily into her little cubbyhole after she's asleep. That alone is huge!
A few times she has even stopped nursing and gone to curl up there and go to sleep on her own!!! Beyond HUGE!! Not enough exclamation points ever to convey my excitement!
Next, all week long she has woken up just once, a few nights twice! AND...She's not crying when she wakes up! YAY! YAY! And double YAY!!
I'm not even sleeping with my head by her feet anymore. I switched directions because the cushion was uncomfortable. She's been just fine!
I'm so relieved. Now I'm just not sure how to get her from the couch to a toddler bed in a few more weeks. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm grateful for our current sleep triumphs!
Zak was super excited about his. He snuggled up in the recliner and buried himself in it for twenty minutes or so. That's a very long time for him to be in one place without electronic assistance!
He couldn't fall asleep with it the first few nights, but no problem with it lately. He even took it with him to his sleepover. He really seems to like it.
He still has had a few nights that he hasn't been able to relax so he's needed to pace and use the exercise ball, but hopefully that becomes a rare occurrence.
He's been asking us to "lay on" him around bed time more often. That's what he calls it when we sandwich him between the couch cushions. We've noticed that all the kids seem to fall asleep quicker on those nights! Maybe we will have to find a way to add it to our nightly routine.
I'm really proud of him for being able to identify things that make him feel more balanced, more in-sync, and tell us what he needs. Him asking to be squished, or to pace for a while is really helpful for all of us. We don't have to guess what he might need.
What a surprise I found when one evening that I was feeling particularly tense and developing a strong aversion to being touched at all, on a whim, I asked Zak if I could borrow his blanket.
I curled up in the recliner with it tucked all around me, and I felt an immediate sense of relief! I felt like I could relax, all of me, and breathe without reminding myself to.
It was like I had a shield wrapped around me and since my body felt protected, my mind could let go. The lights, sounds, and even the kids trying to crawl up onto the chair were now manageable.
I didn't feel like screaming, or shoving anybody out of my bubble, or covering my ears and closing my eyes to avoid overload.
I didn't feel like I was constantly on the brink of loosing my temper.
I was able to sit there and smile and laugh with their antics. To participate because I was really enjoying it, not just because it was what they needed and I should. It was wonderful! I was blown away.
Maybe it was a fluke. I'll have to try it again. My biggest problem is being able to give myself permission to walk away from everyone's needs to take care of my own for a moment. But I need to keep reminding myself how good an investment it is for my whole family that I take care of myself too. Nobody wins when mommy looses it. =(
For now though, it's wonderful to finally get what we've all been "weighting" for.
Kits weighs 4 pounds.
Zak's weighs 11. Wow! This thing is heavy.
Resting Easier!
Kit still won't sleep at night with it covering her, but sometimes she'll nap with it, so progress!
What she will let me do at night is roll it up and squish it up next to her. She then has pressure from both sides, one side from the couch cushion, the other from the blanket. Also she has a cushion up top, so she can push against it if she wants.
We have seen much improvement at night. She let's me put her down easily into her little cubbyhole after she's asleep. That alone is huge!
A few times she has even stopped nursing and gone to curl up there and go to sleep on her own!!! Beyond HUGE!! Not enough exclamation points ever to convey my excitement!
Next, all week long she has woken up just once, a few nights twice! AND...She's not crying when she wakes up! YAY! YAY! And double YAY!!
I'm not even sleeping with my head by her feet anymore. I switched directions because the cushion was uncomfortable. She's been just fine!
I'm so relieved. Now I'm just not sure how to get her from the couch to a toddler bed in a few more weeks. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm grateful for our current sleep triumphs!
Two For Two
Zak was super excited about his. He snuggled up in the recliner and buried himself in it for twenty minutes or so. That's a very long time for him to be in one place without electronic assistance!
He couldn't fall asleep with it the first few nights, but no problem with it lately. He even took it with him to his sleepover. He really seems to like it.
He still has had a few nights that he hasn't been able to relax so he's needed to pace and use the exercise ball, but hopefully that becomes a rare occurrence.
He's been asking us to "lay on" him around bed time more often. That's what he calls it when we sandwich him between the couch cushions. We've noticed that all the kids seem to fall asleep quicker on those nights! Maybe we will have to find a way to add it to our nightly routine.
I'm really proud of him for being able to identify things that make him feel more balanced, more in-sync, and tell us what he needs. Him asking to be squished, or to pace for a while is really helpful for all of us. We don't have to guess what he might need.
...And Mommy Too!
What a surprise I found when one evening that I was feeling particularly tense and developing a strong aversion to being touched at all, on a whim, I asked Zak if I could borrow his blanket.
I curled up in the recliner with it tucked all around me, and I felt an immediate sense of relief! I felt like I could relax, all of me, and breathe without reminding myself to.
It was like I had a shield wrapped around me and since my body felt protected, my mind could let go. The lights, sounds, and even the kids trying to crawl up onto the chair were now manageable.
I didn't feel like screaming, or shoving anybody out of my bubble, or covering my ears and closing my eyes to avoid overload.
I didn't feel like I was constantly on the brink of loosing my temper.
I was able to sit there and smile and laugh with their antics. To participate because I was really enjoying it, not just because it was what they needed and I should. It was wonderful! I was blown away.
Maybe it was a fluke. I'll have to try it again. My biggest problem is being able to give myself permission to walk away from everyone's needs to take care of my own for a moment. But I need to keep reminding myself how good an investment it is for my whole family that I take care of myself too. Nobody wins when mommy looses it. =(
For now though, it's wonderful to finally get what we've all been "weighting" for.
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