sleeping update grayson

Hi All!  I thought that I would take a moment out of my crazy busy week and let you know that bed time is going better with Grayson...

He hasn't had a night terrors since last Friday... I am not sure what was causing them, but I stepped back and started the process of getting him comfortable and making him feel safe in his room.  Which means I am laying with him until he falls asleep.  

Baby steps right...

I am okay with doing this for some time and than I am going to move to sitting outside his door and hopefully "fingers crossed" we will be back to him going to sleep on his own. 

I keep telling myself that he will only be little for a short time and the next thing I will know he will have nothing to do with me being in his room etc...

 

I will tell you that we did do something special and fun to get Grayson to sleep in his room.  We took him to build a bear and let him create a bear and guess what they have at build a bear... SUPERHERO bears!  

Grayson picked out the batman bear and I sat down with him and told him about the special powers batman has:

~ he only stays in Grayson's room 

~ if Grayson doesn't sleep in his room with his batman bear he will fly away to his cousin Drew's house in South Dakota and sleep with him because Drew sleeps in his room
~Batman Bear protects Grayson when he is sleeping  

I go one step further and make a point that Batman Bear disappears each day and flies back before bed time.  I move batman bear all over his room and sometimes I pretend to knock on the front door and batman is at the front door waiting for Grayson... the imagination of it all is working and has been SO FUN! (it is like elf on the shelf, but with batman)

I just love this age because if you make anything FUN, at least for my little guy, he lights up with excitement!

night terrors

our little guy Grayson is having night terrors this is night three of it taking place for hours.  It usually is just the first few hours that he is asleep, but last night it was ALL night long. 

I feel so sad for him.  He wakes up and cries, screams, runs around the house like he doesn't know where he is or who we are, and he is shaking all over.  

He never wants to go back to his room he always wants in our room... I don't want to make it a habit that every time this happens he gets to sleep with us.  But I don't want him to be scared of his room.  Last night I laid with him and held his hand until he fell back to sleep, but not even an hour later he was up again with night terrors.  So at this point it was midnight and I needed sleep so I just let him sleep in our bed.  

Any tips?  Will he out grow this?  What is the best method when he wakes up with these terrors?  Should I just hold him and let him do what he wants to do?  Do you think he is getting enough rest at night when this occurs?  Do you think he remembers in the morning? 

I asked the question on instagram last night after the second time of him waking up, but I thought I would share what is happening in our house and see if anyone has had similar stories or situation that they can offer advice to this tired mama.  

Thanks in advance...

Sweet boy holding his mama's hand

bedtime update {great mommy advice}

a BIG thanks to all that left me a comment on this post... what do I do about...

I received so many wonderful comments and great ideas.  I encourage if you are walking in similar shoes as we are that you spend some time reading the comments in my post.  Wonderful thoughtful encouraging words! 

This is what I have changed in our bed time routine...

- no more iPad in his bed 

- once Crew goes to sleep which is around 7:45 or 8PM it is quite time all lights are out in the house and we snuggle on the couch together for 15 mins watching cartoons or a movie that he gets to pick out.  I also explained all of this to Grayson that after Crew goes to sleep it is quite time and mommy time to sit together and snuggle.  

After our snuggle time we go to his room and get ready for bed and read two books.  

We say our prays I explain to him that he has to stay in bed because it is time to sleep and mommy needs to go to sleep too.  

I have consistently done this since last Friday and the past four nights have been successful.  He may get out once, but I just walk him back upstairs and he stays in his bed.  I haven't sat outside of his room for a week now and it feels wonderful.  I am able to have my time and time with Chad as well.  

Looking back I feel as if I was the problem and I am glad I stepped out of the situation listened to other mommy's and changed our bedtime routine.

Thanks for being there for me...big hugs!

I will be the first to say if this doesn't continue to work I will try something else also glad I am not alone in this bedtime battle! 

  

I am also thinking of doing my series that I did two summer's ago called:

Working Mommy Series 

this is a series where other working mommy's, like me, can be a guest blogger on my blog and share their family and ideas they have to how they make it all work and balancing motherhood and working outside of the home. 

So who out there would be interested in doing something like this?  

If so email me at 

mlstafford26@yahoo.com 

I think we will do the posts starting in July.  

what do I do about...

Kelly at Kelly's Korner did a post titled... what do I do about...

I love the title and it sparked a question that I have. 

what do I do about...

GETTING GRAYSON TO GO TO BED ON HIS OWN

I think this is the BIGGEST question I have and so HARD to figure out! 

I was able to break the habit of laying with him every night until he fell asleep now I am sitting outside of his room by the stairs for about an hour before he goes to sleep.  During this time I put him in his bed numerous times and he asks me about 20 times, "mommy are you there?"

I feel that me sitting outside of his room is not working. 

But if I don't he will come downstairs over and over again and he will never go to sleep. 

What is a girl to do! 

I would love for him to go to bed and stay there...

He use to be the best sleeper, but than in February I took his paci away and now it has been a constant challenge. 

I am not the type of person to lock him in his room and let him cry and here is why:

~ I hate hearing my babies cry

~ I think if I did this Grayson would destroy his room and he would have the BEST time doing so or he would flood his bathroom (ha!) 

I want Grayson to LIKE bedtime!

We have a routine and we do the same thing every night, but no matter what I do Grayson is not a sleep before 10PM.

It is exhausting...

SO I AM ASKING FOR HELP

DON'T FORGET ABOUT my GIVEAWAY IT ENDS TOMORROW!