Sleep doesn't come easy in our house.

Our six year old daughter is on some heavy doses of steroids for medical reasons and receives a nightly injection, so her sleep schedule has always been tricky for us and her siblings (sister, 9, and brother, 4).

We've tried it all...melatonin, white noise machines, snuggles, full body massages, cool rooms, warm rooms, endless rocking, warm blankets, lullaby's, bedtime stories, lights on, lights off, co-sleeping, warm baths, ceiling fans, essential oils, diffusers, sticker charts, bribes, and most recently, Himalayan Salt lamps.

So what works best for us? It changes every night. When you're performing a life-dependent medical task at bedtime, it can throw off even a champion sleeper. We do our best to keep to a routine every night so everyone knows what's coming next. Shower, teeth, story time, prayers, and lights out (or on, depending on the night!). A no-surprises routine is especially helpful when one of our kiddos is under the weather and requires a little extra TLC.

We tackle the dreaded nightly shot with fun Band-aids and lots of snuggles, but we also love using a weighted stuffed animal that can be warmed up in the microwave. The weight is comforting and the natural herbal aroma is calming. It works like a charm!

As our kids grow, we will continue to enforce our no-tech after dinner time embargo to help them fall asleep soundly and we'll keep the sound machines plugged in.

Good sleep is such an important part of their overall health - we can't afford not to pay attention and search for positive solutions. To help us manage, we use a Sleep Tracker from My Med Buddy to track her sleep patterns and identify any factors that might be causing an issue. You can get yours for free here.