One Week

This is for one of my oldest friends who has been dealing with the same problem:

Last night marked one week that my three year old has slept in his own bed ALL night. No...he hasn't been sleeping in my bed for the past three years. About a month ago, with absolutely no warning, Lucius decided that Mommy and Daddy's bed was THE place to be. The first couple of nights I just let him climb in....I know.... But I'm six months pregnant and i NEED my sleep. This went on for about a week or so.

Then, I was at the doctors office waiting to see my OB when I noticed an article in Parenting about how to deal with children who are afraid of the dark. I don't really remember what the article said, but I realized that I didn't even know why Lucius was getting up in the middle of the night and refusing to go back to his bed. That night, when he arrived at the foot of my bed with blanket in tow, I asked him why he didn't want to go back to his room. He quickly let me know that his room was TOO dark (we were having this conversation in complete darkness as well...but you can't explain that to a three year old.) AND there were MONSTERS in his room.

The next day I went out and bought a night light for Lucius's room. Yes, he has gone the past three years without a light in his room, but I need the help. I wasn't sure what to do about the monsters. That night I put Lucius to bed expecting that all would be right with the world and he would stay put. No such luck. This went on for another week so. I was starting to drag during the day and even get just a little (read-a lot!!!) cranky.

Last Monday on my way to pick up the kids from daycare, I decided that I needed a better plan. I knew that if i could just get Lucius to bed earlier then I could get to bed earlier. (yes, this wasn't a solution to keeping him out of my bed, but it was all I could think to do.) The routine needed to be changed a little. Everything we were doing was great up until the moment that Lucius needed to be put in bed. There are just TOO many shows that I like to watch at the eight o'clock hour (Grey's, John and Kate plus 8, Super Nanny, American Idol, just to name a couple) and I (gasp) don't have a TIVO! So at eight Lucius and I head upstairs so that I can watch TV and he lays down on my bed to go to sleep. Around nine is when he falls asleep and then around ten (when he is good and asleep) I get Tom to take Lucius to his own bed. And I wonder why he won't stay in his own room.......

Back to last Monday.... At 7:45 i said to Lucius, "Come on, its bedtime." Received a little whining, but that stopped when I said lets get a book to read. We headed upstairs and picked out a book for him to read. We each took turns reading a Lighting McQueen book twice. Lucius said his prayers and I turned the light off. Then came the "Mommy I need another hug" and "Mommy, I need one more mooch!" Finally, I headed downstairs. There was some crying, but surprisingly, Lucius stayed in the bed. And around eight thirty it was silent!!! I could almost taste the victory!!! I checked on him around nine and he was fast asleep. AND more importantly, he stayed asleep and in his bed ALL night!

I have kept this same routine up all week and it seems to have worked. Who knew that kids need a little structure and consistency. To top it off, Lucius is so proud of himself. Every morning at breakfast he lets me know what a BIG BOY he is because he slept in his bed all by himself.