Light Bulb!

I don't know how this little episode reflects on my mental prowess or problem solving abilities, but since you asked...

So last week, after all my family left, Brooks had a really, really rough week of sleep. It seemed like he just couldn't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time - very unusual for him, since he's always slept well, even on our trip to Italy just the week before. I was very puzzled.

For a week straight, we put him down like normal each night after supper and bath and stories. He'd then wake up crying sometimes around 11 or 12, but almost always again between 2 and 4. Unfortunately, we could hear him getting worked up quickly, and by the time we could get back to his crib to comfort him, he'd be standing up shouting and shaking the crib rails. Sometimes it took more than an hour for him to settle back down and sleep again.

By Sunday night this week, I was completely exhausted. I know some parents have kids who still haven't slept through the night at one year, but we'd become very accustomed to our great little sleeper. Having resigned myself to surviving whatever stage we were going through, I decided in the wee hours of Monday morning that I would just sit in the nursery chair and shhhh him from a few feet away while he drifted back to sleep. I turned all the lights out thinking, hoping that maybe I'll nap in here myself for a few hours.

Voila! Within 60 seconds of the lights going out, Brooks turned a few circles in his crib, laid down and was out cold. What in the world!? Was that all it took!? I racked my brain. Brooks had never been comfortable sleeping in the dark in this room before, what was going on?

Slowly the light blub above my own fuzzy, sleep-deprived mind began to brighten... Brooks had been graciously sharing his room here with Aunt Sissy. Of course, *she* didn't sleep with a light on - she's one who needs ear plugs, complete darkness, and the *perfect* room temperature in order to sleep! Plus, we had him in various hotel rooms for three weeks as we traveled around Italy, and each time the room had been pitch black when we slept. Maybe Brooks had turned a corner in less than month and was now a big boy, sleeping best in the dark!

So, fantastic! This is an easy problem to fix once you know what it is. Just turn the lights out on your way from the room. Brooks has had two full nights of sleep the last two, sleeping until almost 7:00am both nights. And I feel like I'm starting to catch up myself. Thank you, Lord!

My only regret is that it will be harder to sneak in and watch him sleeping peacefully in his crib from now on. I have loved doing that for the past year. He really does look like an angel when he's sleeping.



Nighty night, Little.