ds is a pain in the REAR!!!

[rainbabies]

this kid has NEVER slept thru the night...okay maybe i can count on one hand (serioulsy) the amount of times he has. his latest issue...he is scared of the dark. he sleeps with a flashlight and he has a nightlight too. well, those two things havent been working out very well lately (they were at one time) and he has been getting up more and more coming into our room...and yes even shining the flashlight IN MY EYES!

dh and i just keep bringing him back and telling him its okay, nothing to be afraid of...blah, blah, blah. yesterday i gave him a desk lamp that he can sleep with on all night. OMG at 2am he got up. dh put him back to bed. 10 minutes later...again. my turn....again and again and again until 4am when i finally swatted him on the rear and he fell asleep. UG! i dont want to belittle his fear of the dark, but OMG a girl needs some sleep. the bulb in the lamp is 25 watts, im thinking it is too bright. in his room. *sigh* im friggen tired.

[Phoebe]

Sylvia- Two words! The Sleeping fairy! My oldest always has reasons to get out of bed and waking up. She has a nightlight and the overhead light on its dimmest setting in case she is a afraid of the dark. When she got into patches of not sleeping well, we have the sleeping fairy come and she brings small rewards (stickers, candy, a quarter or a small toy) for those who stay in their bed all night. It worked great. Nellie gave me the idea and I owe her big time. I am not above bribing my child so I can have a good night's sleep. Not that I am getting one now.

Jennifer

That is no fun.

We had a fear of the dark thing too. She had to sleep with her overhead light on and desk lamp. It was *bright* but she did sleep with all those lights on. Do you think he would go for a reward chart sort of thing? Like if he stays in his room all night he gets a sticker and seven stickers gets a prize?

I just saw that Jennifer posted. I was also going to suggest the Sleep Fairy.

I think the sleeping fairy is a great idea.

The other thing you could think about is what is waking him up in the first place once he is asleep? DS used to wake up every night mostly twice a night. It turne out his bladder was full and was waking him up and then as soon as he flooded his diaper he was back asleep, but not before waking me and SO up and in our bed. So i gave him a drink earlier in the evening and only a small one before bed and it stopped. Of course I'm not suggesting this particular problme is waking him up but maybe something else is?

Our older daughter has always been a rough sleeper, too. We actually just bought her a full-size mattress b/c she claimed that her toddler bed was too small (she sleeps upside down, arms and legs spread out like a star). The bed has worked out great (and the side benefit is when she is scared, my husband just sleeps with her!)

Before we bought the mattress, I made a little sleeping corner for her in our room. I piled a bunch of blankets on top of each other and we brought some of her stuffed animals in our room. We told her that she could come in our room and sleep on her "bed" if she was scared but she HAD to be quiet. It worked great, too!

We tried the Sleep Fairy when we were trying to get her to sleep all night long. The Sleep Fairy works GREAT! I went to the dollar store and loaded up on stickers, crayons, play-doh.

Sleep is so crucial. We do whatever allows all of us (or most of us) to actually get some sleep!!!! (Lately that means the youngest in bed with me and my husband in bed with the oldest!)

[rainbabies]

thanks for the ideas. i'll have to run them by dh tonight. we are not able to sleep with him...bed HOG! we tried the little bed next to ours and he ended up playing!

maybe the sleeping fairy would work. im going to run out tonight when dh gets home and get a lower watt bulb. all i know is i need some sleep! oh and i guess dh could use some too.

[Sheherezade]

The sell a plug in dimmer switch at Home Depot. It plugs in to any lamp and then plugs in to the wall. There's a little slider dimmer switch with about 6 feet of cord attached. We put one of those on my daughter's lamp and put the dimmer next to her bed. She adjusts the light to the level she's comfortable with - sometimes higher than others. We've also used the books on tape and music with a cassette player in her room to settle her down at night. She drifts off. Not much help, I'm sure - but more ideas.

As for staying in bed, that's tricky. I'd wonder what was waking him so often too. No caffeine, right? No chocolate? Those are the first out the door when we have sleep issues here. Then sugar. Then, with nothing physiological left to blame I turn to the psychological issues. Those are much more pesky. With a little one, it could just be developmental. I also think they wake up more when they are in a growth spurt. If he's still napping, you might consider taking that down a bit - or ramping it up because overtired kids sleep less soundly. Maybe it's related to all the preschool changes that he went through and he'll settle down with time to process. Good luck, Sylvia......that's hard.

[rainbabies]

thanks angie. no caffeine or chocolate, just excuses. "i have a booger, im wet, i need to go potty"...those are all before he falls asleep. he just wakes between midnight and whenever to tell me he is afraid. *sigh*

oh, and no naps...has not in a while.

[Stella]

I used to get scared in my room when I was younger because certain things with shadows hitting them would look like monsters or witches, etc. It actually helped me to have the room completely pitch black because then I couldn't see the shadows.

Either that or it was the shot of liquor or wine my mom would give me...


Good luck. You've gotten lots of great suggestions.

The shadow thing is why DD wanted every light in her room on full-tilt. She was on to the dimmer switch in a heartbeat. Being the determined kid that she is, she did an amazing job of falling asleep lighting that was like the noonday sun.

I hope you get something that works for you! You and your hubby both need a full nights sleep.

[rainbabies]

last night was better. i ran out last night and got him a blue light bulb. it is really no brighter than a night light, but he was very happy with it.

he only got up once, at 4am to tell me he was wet. what a PITA to change everything and be able to fall back to sleep.

so at 8am i heard him in the hallway ARGUING with someone/something/himself??? "NO, im a big boy"......"NO, my vacuum"

im in a major fog and still asleep ....i come to and he is arguing with dd about who knows what and he is trying to vacuum. last night he did the whole house. this morning his toys are scattered funny in his room, so i know he was in there trying something! there are fresh wheel marks in the living room. i have no idea how long he had been up...usually he comes to get me. the kid is now obcessed with THE dyson!

I don't envy you with the whole no sleeping thing...I remember it well.
Our oldest son was a night hawk/waker and it used to drive me mad. I read an article about night waking and thought that I had tried everything until Mr Bear came along...it suggested buying a big teddy bear (or another stuffed animal he likes) and making him (the bear) some kind of uniform or badge and explaining to your son that the bear can "protect"him from anything and everything. I was a little nervous about this concept becuase it was kind of like agreeing that there were things to be scared of when there weren't, but in the end got desperate and tried it and have had 7 years of mostly peaceful sleeps (he sleep walks too) He is now 10 and still sleeps with Mr Bear...only thing is that your son would have to be old enough to understand the whole protecting concept?

[alison]

I'm 28 and I still sleep with a bear that I've had since I was 6. When dh leaves in the morning, he puts it on his side of the bed.

[rainbabies]

i have a huggie pillow. i have had it for about 17 years now. it is see thru and i have to make covers for it. it's lumpy and bumpy and oh so snuggable! dh says he hates it, but when i go to bed after him....he is always alseep...i have to pry it out of his hands. it has been everywhere with me. even the dreaded hospital shots--post birth--it's always in the background. cant' sleep without it.


ds...since we got the blue light bulb, has been sleeping much better!