Do I use my software?

OK, so I'm sure you are wondering: Do I use my own software?

The answer is a resounding "YES." I did not use it a lot for the past couple of months but here is how I am currently finding it very useful...

My daughter Rhiannon is 4. She has been a great napper but has had trouble going to sleep at 8:30 pm a few months now and she awakes between 6:15 and 7:00 am.

My son Dasher is 2. He has the same bedtime but is more inclined to awaken around 6:00 am and then I really have to keep him going until a 1 pm naptime.

Seemed like a lot of work for 2 kids that I didn't really feel were getting adequate sleep, so I decided to try an experiment. I am currently being leniently with Rhiannon and not forcing her to nap. On the Activity Tracking Software (ATS), I am finding it useful to track if and when she naps, her bedtime, and her overall mood. For Dasher, I have moved his naptime one hour earlier to 12 pm. I am tracking his daily nap and bedtime. Bedtime is earlier, lights are out by 8:00 pm.

Observation from one week: Both children are falling asleep much more quickly at bedtime. Rhiannon gets really cranky if she misses her nap 2 days in a row. Dasher is going to sleep quickly with his earlier naptime (and Rhiannon, also, on the days she naps) and his nap seems to be increasing from 2 to 3 hours (interested in seeing if this trend continues). They are also both sleeping until about 7:00 am.

Granted, this is only one week of observation but it's fantastic to have a quick visual view of the situation on my computer and to not second guess what I remember from the day before (I walked out of the grocery store without my groceries the other day...again. At least I didn't drive all the way home this time!) By looking at the data I input into the ATS, I can immediately see that my experiment seems to be having a positive effect. My children are falling asleep faster, they are sleeping longer, and they seem to be more rested in general. Nice!

Once I get into the groove with the new sleep schedule, I am going to begin tracking our attempts at potty training Dasher which, to date, have been sporadic at best...