Dare I Speak Too Soon

I was determined to try to get Miles back in his own bed when we moved.  Moving seemed like a good time to make a change.  I started telling Miles a while ago that when we moved that he was going to start sleeping in his own bed.  As we would look at rental houses, he would find his room and say, "I'm going to sleep here and momma's going to sleep right next to me."  It was as if he was laying the groundwork for continuing to sleep in our bed.

I've talked to several people about how to get him to sleep in his own bed.  We've tried a lot of different things to no avail.  The one suggestion we haven't tried is putting a TV in his room.  Darrin was okay with it, but for some reason I just didn't want to.  Well....desperate times call for desperate measures.  The night before we moved, we all went to Walmart and bought a TV.  We talked it up with Miles and made a big deal while we were there.  The new TV was actually for our room b/c it's brand new and it's a smart TV, but he doesn't have to know that.  

This is his new room...

The view from his bed...

Each night, we tuck him in between 8-8:15pm and set the timer for an hour.  We've rehearsed with him repeatedly that when the TV turns off it's time for him to go to sleep.  And if he gets up, he's not allowed to watch it the next night.  I'm ecstatic to report that he has slept in his bed every night, all night.  He's even waited to get up until his clock turned green all but one morning....and that morning he stayed in his bed until 5:45am.  It's like a miracle. 

I think one of the main things in our favor is the fact that his room is right across the hall from our room.  Our last house wasn't big by any means, but he wasn't right next to us either.  This is the view from our room to his...

He used to tell us that he didn't like his room in the old house.  He said he didn't like the dinosaurs on the walls, which were decals.  We purposely didn't bring those with us.  He didn't even like to go in his room during the day if the lights weren't already on.  Maybe there really was something wrong with that room in his eyes.  He tends to be scared of basically everything.  Last night, he only got to watch one show b/c he kept getting up.  After his TV turned off he noticed the shadows on the ceiling and said that his room was too dark even though he sleeps with a lamp on.  I think the TV distracts him from being scared & hearing noises, and also gives him time to wind down. 

It's hard to say if it's b/c he's near our room, the dinosaur decals are gone, or the new TV, but whatever it is....I am very happy to have my bed back.  I also like having more time to myself at night.  We were spending until after 10pm on many nights just trying to get him to sleep.  That's a major reason I haven't blogged much lately.  I hoped I haven't jinxed anything...I just couldn't wait to share the good news :)