I have been blessed with two terrible sleepers. My son never slept through the night (despite me reading every book on sleep I could get my hands on - trying to reconcile Dr. Sears' letting-your-children-cry-creates-permanent-psychological-damage with Ferber's if-you-don't-let-them cry-they'll-develop-insomnia-problems-for-life is pretty impossible). My son gave up each of his naps before any of his friends. When he gave up his last nap at 2, he finally started sleeping through night. Until a few months ago. And then came the nightmares.
For months, nearly every night he'd be up at least once or twice crying for us. When we asked what was wrong, he'd tell us terrifying tales of the monsters in his room. One monster he said had red eyes and many faces. Yeah, I'd be screaming in the middle of the night too if I thought that was in my room. He said the monsters would come through "the cracks" of his toddler bed. The bed had been converted from a crib, so he was referring to the crib slats. We decided, who needs a bed? We dismantled his bed and put his mattress right on the ground, which he was really excited about it. But then he said the monsters were coming through the slats in his sister's crib or through his drawers or through the floor. These monsters must be pretty talented!
Eventually, we started leaving a small light on for him. But those monsters kept coming! So a friend, another local mom, told me about Lyla Tov Monsters. Created by Astorian Erin Black's daughter Lyla when she was just three-years-old, these friendly monsters were made to help children feel safe from those bad monsters that keep them (and their parents) up at night. I loved the idea and the fact that they were designed by another kid in the neighborhood, so I let my son choose one. He chose Squonk, a blue horned monster. He was so excited when his new friend arrived! The monster quickly became his favorite.
The nightmares didn't end immediately and he still wakes up on occasion. But lately it's been just a couple times a week, instead of a couple times a night. And rather than searching for monsters and convincing him that it's safe to lie back down in his bed, he usually just wants a little snuggle and will go right back to sleep. I'm not sure if Squonk really did scare the monsters away, but he always sleeps right next to him.
His little sister loved Squonk so much and kept grabbing him away from her brother (saying "Mine" of course), that we decided to get her a monster of her own. Although her choice was a bit less clear, we went with a cheerful green monster called Forrest. Now she and her brother both have their monster friends to protect them all night and play with all day. If I could just get her to sleep through the night! Maybe in another 6 months...
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