Sleep Solutions

My friend and fellow toddler mom, Kirsten, mentioned that I haven't written anything in awhile. People actually read this?? So here I am. For several weeks Austin wasn't sleeping well and when that happens the whole household is stressful and I don't feel like doing anything "extracurricular" like blogging, washing my face, combing my hair, etc. He's now doing much better so I have a small amount of energy to spend doing things for myself. Right now I feel like listing what I did to help little A sleep better so if, in the future, someone asks me what worked for us, here it is documented.
1.) Started talking up his crib and crib buddies, as in "Your crib is so nice & comfy!"
2.) Rewarded (bribed) him with sleep stickers. It started out that he would get a sticker if he slept through the night or napped for at least one hour. That morphed into putting a "night-night" or "nappie" sticker on his sleeve for him to see all night/nap long.
3.) Figured out we were putting him down for naps too late. In retrospect, this was the most obvious one. I think it is also the most important piece of the solution. Good naps equal good nighttime sleep and vice versa.
4.) Started putting a swim diaper cover on him at night. He was waking up soaked all the time! Sounds crazy but it works.
5.) If he does wake up during the night, I have given myself permission to just pick him up and take him to bed with me. We both fall right back to sleep instead of fighting with him for 2 or 3 hours. And no lights on if I do get him up. This is also from the duh! category, but Austin used to bully me into turning on the lights. I finally asserted myself for his own (and my) benefit.
6.) I try my damndest to get him to bed by his regular bedtime 7:30. This is key as well.
7.) I try to get him outside to play everyday.

He's been doing really well. He only seems to wake up if he has stimulation in the evening in the form of a playgroup or a birthday party. There's really nothing I can do about this because I'm not going to pass on all social activities. It's too important for both of us to have friends.