Last week, the sleep issue reared its ugly head again (no doubt brought on by my recurring friend, Daylight Savings). Not only does she have trouble falling asleep, but she's become terrified by "noises" she hears in the house. Dad checked her closet for anything suspicious; we talked about how houses make sounds, but they're not bad sounds; we talked about how our imaginations can sometimes run wild (which got a giggle out of her); we turned on the nightlight again; we turned up the noise machine in her room that's for N; and we even said special prayers. One night when I came in to grab something for the babies, I saw her huddled underneath her blankets, absolutely terrified by whatever she heard, or thought she heard. She was finally able to get some rest last Thursday night, but then it started up again on Friday night and hasn't let up.
Talking her through all of this has brought up all of my issues with sleep, and I think I've discovered why making sure everyone in the house sleeps well is so important to me. I've had trouble sleeping for most of my life, starting when I was in 7th grade or so. Most of the time, I just can't turn off my mind, but as a kid I would get so freaked out by noises or shadows in my room that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep for hours. Reassuring S made me remember my poor mom saying many of the same things to help me calm down and fall asleep. I could never turn my imagination off, so I guess it's no wonder that S has problems with it, too.
If anyone has any ideas for helping S fall asleep faster, I'm all ears.
5 comments:
oh I wish I knew some golden trick. T stays up sometimes and is even awake when we are going to bed like at 10:30pm last night but he is just laying there and not saying it's because he is scared. I know sometimes exercise can help get them more tired physically so they just go to sleep....is she involved in anything..get her a treadmill and make her run 5 miles before bed....hmm...see I'm not much help!
Ooh, don't make her run too close to bedtime, it will backfire. CE does some of the same things. Currently she won't go into her bathroom at night--it's too scary. Sometimes she won't sleep in her bed, but will sleep on some blankets on the floor. All this makes the OCD mother in me absolutely NUTS, but the best thing seems to be saying all the things you say, praying all the things you pray and then letting her figure out what works for her, whether it be listening to headphones until she falls asleep or reading the friend or some other definitely NOT scary reading material in bed until she crashes (I know N's in there, but how about a bitty book light?) Good luck. This sleep thing is a never ending battle, isn't it?
my boys listen to some beautiful lullabys every night when they go to bed. they really helped soren when he was having trouble---his room is right under the kitchen. one night he asked me when jesus was going to come out of the songs. anyway, if you are interested call me and i will give you the info.
When I was young, I would always listen to sappy church music when I went to bed. When I was little I called it 'heavenly music'. It was mostly the classic Janice Kapp Perry. But it worked for me, and as young as I was, it really helped me to feel the spirit and feel at peace when I went to bed.
We do music with M as well, She has a few she has picked and we even have a few CD's made off Itunes that she requested the songs herself.
We also have success with books on Tape. She loved listening to Because of Winn Dixie and it was easier than me staying up all night trying to read it to her. Good Luck!
As for me, I tell myself stories that I want to write, but on really mind wandering nights I take a tip I heard once on KSL when they were discussing sleeplessness. I make lists in my head. Name a movie that starts with every letter in the Alphabet. Still awake by Z? Try naming a movie that starts with every letter and only has one word in the title. Over the years I have mixed it up, Characters names, books. It makes your mind shut down easily.
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