Sleep

All I can say is what the heck.  After 4+ years I can write a book on how to get a child to sleep ~ or what will never work!  I have read more books on the topic then I can mention.  I talk to our pediatrician.  We have given him melatonin.  We get so much fresh air!  I am a parent expert on sleeping attempts.  And still we struggle! 

We have had months and months of not sleeping through the night.  I started to bribe him with dollar bills.  He is motivated by money (who isn't?).  I didn't have to worry about giving him much because he still crawled in bed next to me at night.  Then it started to work.  He saved up $10 and I took him to Target to spend his money.  He learned quickly that mommy would tell him no on the toys he didn't have enough money for.  So he started saving again.  This time with a goal of that toy he thought he wanted.  We drew a picture of the toy, the price and posted it on the fridge where he has a money clip.  He saved $30 and we went and bought the thing he had been saving for.  Currently, he is sleeping most nights in his bed because he is super motivated by the dollar.  He is also saving for something cool that cost $45.  His money for sleeping in the bed is never taken away.  Not when he breaks something, not when he is naughty.  He earns it for something important!  Allowing us all a good night sleep is worth rewarding! 

There are issues (of course there are!).  The last two nights he has called me in the middle of the night and wanted me to sleep with him.  We can't figure out if he is cold, afraid or just lonely for mommy. We thought he was sleeping with us for the physical weight of bodies next to him.  We think that is why he wants someone in his bed.  He has a weighted bear so when he calls I put that right next to him.  Last night I slept with him for about 20 minutes then went back to bed and he stayed put. 

He has started waking up really early ~ between 5-6am is just to early to be awake.  And once awake he is not going to go back to sleep.  We are struggling with keeping him in the bed, keeping him asleep and helping him to understand that he can sleep alone all night. 

While I may have tons of knowledge about how it 'should' work, keeping my little boy in the bed and asleep is a challenge.  Each night we just try.  If I find the magic answer I will be happy to share it... until then I will just share our success & attempts!