The biggest issue that we have had with Cain since McCoy has come along is early wake up time. Chris and I used to not see Cain till 7:00am and than shortly after McCoy was born he started getting up between 5-6 (when the time changed it was 4-5). Chris and I are morning people but having a two year bouncing off the walls that early is not my cup of tea especially if I had been up a lot with McCoy. We tried changing his bedtime to earlier and later, we skipped some naps and we made a sticker chart. Nothing helped and we ended up buying a $60 combine when he partially got 5 stickers on his chart. I posted on Facebook my problem and a couple of people mentioned a light/clock that the parents set before going to bed and when the light turns the child knows it is time to get out of bed. I looked into it and found a stop light clock, we turn the red light on every night and at 6:00am the light turns from red to green. At first it didn't really work so I had to step it up a notch and make a big sticker chart, he had to stay in bed till the green light came on for 5 days than he got a special treat (he got donuts for breakfast), than he had to go for 6 days and he got to do a special activity (he went to work with Daddy, which he did today), his next goal is 7 days for a special meal out and than 8 days for a special toy. He does not do it every morning but we can tell that he understands the concept because if he leaves his room before the green light comes on he hangs out outside our bedroom banging around till we acknowledge him, if he waits it sounds like elephants are running through our house when he runs into our room and slams into the bed. The light is kind of cheaply made for how much I spent on it ($32) but it is helping us and he is really proud of his accomplishments, he tells everyone about it. I found it on One Step Ahead website, there is one that has a sleeping bunny on it that is in the magazine and I came across the stop light while looking at the bunny one on their website. The stop light was cheaper and had better reviews plus I think it is really helping Cain with his colors and the concept of stop and go. Now we just need McCoy to stop chattering in his crib from 5-6 and I will be very well rested.
