We have reclaimed our bed.  Well, we are in the process of reclaiming it and we are pretty close to claming success.  But I have learned to not claim success too soon.  That can really backfire on you.  The whole bed sharing thing started off innocent enough out of our utter laziness.  Noah would wake up and come down to our bed in the middle of the night and being two people who love sleep and have gotten use to sleeping through the night would let him climb up and sleep with us.  Well, this laziness quickly snowballed into him just going to sleep in our bed and that has been going on for a few weeks or more.  We also were making the mistake of allowing him to stay up to late.  He had always been a good kid and would tell us when he wanted to go to bed.  But now that he is older (if you can call 3 older) he wants to push the limits of bedtime and we let him.  It was easier.  I know bad parenting–but I am gone 2-3 nights a week between school and working and daddy is a bit of a softy.  So, we had a family bed and we didn’t really want one.

So, I had decided that after our vacation we would begin putting Noah to sleep in his own bed.  Then I got an issue of Parenting the Early Years and in there was an article titled “Reclaim Your Bed.”  I couldn’t believe my luck.  The article couldn’t come at a better time.  I read some of it with Noah and told him over and over that when we got back from vaction he was going to start sleeping in his own bed because he was a big boy and it was time.  He didn’t like that but agreed to think about it.  He’s a bit of a character our little Noah.

So, we came home from vacation and he got to have a few more nights with mom and dad–we arrived home from our trip late and he had been such a good traveler–and I was going to be gone the next two nights and hubby wanted us to both be home when we started the training.  We prepped him again and again that this would be the last night.  I easily handled the “Why Mommy?  I really love sleeping with you and daddy.”  I explained to him again that he was a big boy and it was time for him to start sleeping in his bed, etc.  I know there are plenty of people out there who think that sleeping in a family bed is great and I applaud you.  But I wanted my bed back and I wanted Noah to begin adjusting to sleeping in his own bed.

The first night was okay–we figured out that the bedtime window for Noah is 8:15-8:45.  Any later than that and he gets a second wind.  So, I took him up to bed and we laid in bed and read a few stories and I laid with him until he fell asleep–I told him I would stay until  he fell asleep and then I would be going back down to my own room.  I didn’t want him to wake up and wonder where I was.  He woke up at 2:30 and came down to our bed asking/pleading/begging to sleep with us.  I said no and marched him right back up to his room.  He cried for 40 minutes or so, but fell back asleep until about 6:30. He was surprised and happy to find money under his pillow from the Sleep Fairy.

Night two and three–he prolonged bed time  w/dad and then I got home and read him a story and he fell asleep pretty well.  He was up at both 12:30 and 3–but we marched him back to his room and he went to sleep eventually–w/quite a bit of screaming and crying.

Night 4–went to bed okay (we are still laying down with him until he falls asleep)–he was up at 11:30.  I took him up to his bed.  He was crying/screaming and it was not good.  I was up with him for close to an hour trying to calm him down and get him back to sleep.  It finally worked and fell asleep and was up again at 4.  He cried quite a bit but fell back asleep.

Night 5–didn’t go to bed as good.  He would fall asleep and hubby would leave the room and he would cry–that went on for about 30 minutes.  But he finally fell asleep and stayed asleep and drumroll please…slept in his bed all night.  WHO HOO

He didn’t get money from the sleep fairy on the nights he was up twice.  We told him she probably came but he wasn’t in his bed so she couldn’t leave the money.  He was sad about that, but he was really proud today that he slept in his bed all night and that the sleep fairy saw him sleeping in his bed. He has his money in a pink purse–he loves the purse.  Bill has offered him a wallet on several occassions but he loves the purse.  He is saving up for a batman car/motorcyle–he can’t decide.