I'm tired.
I'm talking all out, falling over myself sleepy tired.
And I'm on my last leg.
Gage doesn't sleep, well that is, something he gets from his insomniac momma.
I don't really sleep, often getting only a handful of hours of slumber a night, a side effect of an anxiety issue I deal with (and I refuse to take sleeping pills for fear I won't be able to wake up should something happen). So when I do finally pass out, because that's what I do, pass out after tossing and turning in bed and thinking all sorts of ridiculous thoughts, I pass out hard.
5 out of the 7 days in a week Gage usually wakes up right after I've fallen asleep and ends up in the bed with me.
2 out of the 7 days in a week Brayden usually joins him.
Today my eyelids are drooping over my bowling ball heavy eyes and my head is swirling with a sickening dizzy I need sleep right this very second feeling.
Mike gets up and goes to work long before the sun rises, so unfortunately the husband is of no help to me, outside of letting me catch an afternoon nap, if he's not working at his second job that is.
If my kids do not sleep tonight ...
I AM GOING TO LOSE MY MIND
If Gage does not stay in his bed ...
If Brayden wakes up in the hullabaloo and follows his brother ...
If I have to witness the sun rise first hand ...
I AM GOING TO FREAK OUT ...
and turn into crazy sleep depraved psycho mother!!
So mommas .... how do your kids to stay in their beds? I need your wisdom here, for sanity's sake!
Please! Don't make me beg!!!
Originally posted on Oh Mandie
Well you know that I share the whole insomniac/anxiety disorder issues... and in order to get sleep, I've set up a mattress (just a spare toddler sized mattress) next to my bed. It has a pillow and blanket and if Annelie (my fellow insomniac child) wakes up - as she does every night - and wants to be near me, she has to sleep on the extra mattress.
ReplyDeleteIt took a little persuading and lots of tears, as she just wanted to sleep in my bed, but its a take it or leave it deal. If she wants to be near me, she gets the extra mattress. If she doesn't, its back to be.
It definitely works! Sometimes she stays in her room all night, but more often than not, I wake up to see her on the mattress next to my bed.
Um... in above comment, "back to be" was meant to be "back to bed" - her OWN bed.
ReplyDeleteMy 2-yo hates for the door to her room to be closed. So if she makes a ruckus when she's supposed to be sleeping, we tell her to be quiet or the door gets shut. If she keeps it up, we shut the door and let her scream and cry until she can behave. Then she can have the door open again.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that works for us is to put a basket of books next to her bed. There's only a tiny bit of light in the room from her cd player (she listens to classical music at bedtime) so she doesn't stay up reading too long. She knows she's allowed to look at books as much as she wants, but is not allowed to get out of the bed.
When we tuck her in, we always ask if she needs anything else before we leave. That way, we don't end up playing the More-Water-I'm-Hungry-Hafta-Pee game
I wish I could share some shard of brilliance. I've been enormously blessed with two good sleepers. I don't say that to brag...honestly. It just means I have no sage advice to share since I haven't had to deal with it. Trust me...if I had a magic wand I'd wave it and make everyone have a nice restful night.
ReplyDelete