Losing Sleep

For at least a month now, Cameron has had issues going to sleep.

At first it was just the anxiety that he was alone upstairs and a fear of the dark. We allowed him to turn on our bedroom light and it seemed to be okay....

.....until we had to put Jacob to bed.

Even if Jake is put into his crib asleep, Cam will bother him enough to wake him up. Last night, Jake had been asleep for 10 minutes before I went to lay him down. I laid him in the crib, he was fine...still asleep. I left the bedroom, all seemed to be well, Jake was still asleep and I THOUGHT Cameron was too.

I walk downstairs and within a minute hear poor Jake's screams. (And he does NOT complain quietly.) Cameron had woken him up.

I was livid!! I yelled for Cameron to come and talk with me, but he wouldn't. I told him to see me before I counted to 5. He still refused, using his best defiance phrase: "Uh uh....I don't WANNA!"

I counted to five and he still didn't come to see me, so I stormed up the stairs and confronted him. I asked him why he woke his brother up, and he said, "Cuz."

I swatted his bum (yes, I do the spanking thing, but not very often...) and told him that he was grounded.

Now to figure out what to ground him over.

The difference about last night compared to other nights is the fact that Steve was not here. He was working the closing shift. Usually the fear of his father is enough to get him to comply and do what he's supposed to, but when Steve isn't here, I'm left helpless (or at least that's how it feels!)

I texted Steve (our new form of communication when he's working) and told him the situation. He was upset too and wanted him to be grounded from tv, computer, video games, friends, going anywhere...basically from EVERYTHING.

I said that grounding him from everything might be too much and told Steve that I figured it was just the over-load of a busy "fun" day. (Cam had gone to Cub Scout day camp and that night played with his friends for many hours.) I suggested that he can't play with his friends (or maybe Steve suggested it again, calmer from his initial upset text) and we decided that was a good plan. We also decided that since he loves the Learning Center so much we'd take that away from him as well.

I didn't go to bed until WAY after 2:00, and woke up at 8:00. Usually Cameron is wide awake by this time and has taken control of the television. But he was still sleeping.

Good!! He needs sleep. I am tired of his grumpy attitude!

I quietly went downstairs and cancelled the Learning Center.

When Cam woke up at 9:00 (a full 2 hours after he USUALLY wakes up) he was upset and mad. I told him why he lost the chance to go and helped him take his pills for the day. Soon after the pills were taken he was much happier.

I'm beginning to suspect his pills of being the problem with his sleep schedule, but I can't address it with his doctor until NEXT week.

Stay tuned....