Confession: For almost every night over the past 6 years, our boys have had Melatonin to help them calm down and get to sleep. We've never had any side effects (I've read about people who have horrible dreams when they take it); in fact, we've had great success with it. However, after speaking to our pediatrician about long term use, we decided it was time for Melatonin Detox. While the boys may be on their way to Melatonin-free lifestyles, Chris and I are on our way to alcohol and ice cream filled lifestyles.
Our first attempt started with a combination of Lavender essential oils and a 10:00pm bedtime (compared to their normal 8:00pm....it's summer after all). Success! Warren, who normally gets very frustrated and aggravated trying to fall asleep, fell fast asleep relatively quickly. Harper had a bit more of a struggle, but conked out, nonetheless. Our second night was equally as pleasant, but that's where our success ends. We have tried soft music, warm milk, rubbing backs...you name it, and I think we've done it.
Last night, though, takes the cake! We were at our wits end, out of ideas, about to throw in the towel. And "just like that" it was as if God knew that I needed a little diversion...a little laugh. With both boys laying in our bed...I sat with them and listened as they talked. Keep in mind, this comes after trying all of the following (some multiple times):
- lavender oil
- Calm Me Down Spray
- warm milk
- warm baths
- Chris and I laying in their beds with them
- laying on the floor
- laying back in their bed
- sleep masks
- quietly reading
Harper started the conversation by telling me about the rules he is going to have at his house when he is a grown up.
- No headphones and/or iPods at the dinner table.
- No playing with your food at the table.
- If you get mad, you have to go to your room for probably about an hour. (Warren agreed with this rule, but will only send his children to their rooms for at least 5 minutes.)
Then the conversation changed to what their homes will be like when they are grown:
Warren is going to have a two story house, if he is rich....because "only rich people have two story houses." He and his wife will have a bedroom and bathroom upstairs, along with the laundry room, "so they don't have to carry their laundry up and down the stairs." He is going to have one boy and one girl and their rooms will be downstairs, along with the kitchen and a bathroom. The TV room and play room will be upstairs. And he was trying to figure out the where the office might go, when I finally called it quits.
Harper is going to have a one story house (which looks strangely like a two story house in his drawing), where he and his wife (he's currently debating on having Ashley as his wife, because "she says his name like she's from Britain") might share a room, but they might have their own rooms. He is going to have a lot of children and wasn't quite as sure where the rooms would be, but he was sure that he was going to have a pool and hot tub.
As I sat listening to their conversation, I thought about what their lives will be like when they grow up, which I know will come all to quickly. Their conversations started to wind down, and I went ahead and made my exit. Don't be excited though, that was most definitely not the end of the night.
Although the grown up dreams ended, they continued to go back and forth between their own bed, our bed, the floor.....t-shirt, no t-shirt because it was itchy.....Burton (their Cabbage Patch doll) or no Burton, because he was already asleep....but I was thankful I was able to be a part of their "grown up" conversation.
Three hours later....success! We're not sure what tonight will bring, but you can bet that we'll be starting much earlier. If we start at 5:00, maybe, just maybe they'll be asleep by 8:00pm? Maybe I shouldn't jinx it!
This morning, Warren and I ran our third 5K for the Watermelon Series. It was not pretty; it was not fun. After Warren set a PR at the last race, he was determined (or so we thought) to PR this race.
