Samantha's first blog

Posted By pamelamyers on January 22, 2015

We are trying again to get Sam to sleep in her own bed. I have mentioned a bunch of times before that she winds up in our bed every single night at some point. She has gotten just too big for all three of us (four if you count Zephyr) to fit in one queen sized bed. So, we are trying again. This time, the prize to be had is the Elsa Bear from Build-a-Bear Workshop. Sam wants this bear in the worst way. She does respond well to charts so that is the method I am using. She potty trained using a chart, and managed to stay in her own bed for a very long stretch the first time, this past summer, using a chart, so I am hopeful. I don’t honestly know what happened to screw it all up. I think the combination of sleeping with us on vacation and an illness that made her cuddle-hungry is the culprit. At any rate, here we go again. Wish us luck.  I made her a chart with a block for every day for the next 3 weeks or so, and each night she stays in her own bed, she gets a smiley face. Each night she ends up in our bed too early, a sad face. The goal is not 100% smiles, but the majority. I am not kidding myself that she will do perfectly. On this chart, I added a picture of the Elsa bear that I printed from the Build-a-Bear website as an added incentive. I keep telling her, “Eyes on the Prize!” She cracks me up, when I say that, she goes over to the chart on the refrigerator and stares at it intensely. I did explain that it is just an expression meaning to not forget your ultimate goal, but she still stares at it and says, “I’ve got my eye on the prize, mom!”

I will admit,  the whole process is a bit of a difficult thing for me. I desperately want her in her own bed so I can be comfortable and get some sleep, but at the same time, I love cuddling with her as much as she loves cuddling with me. I love staying with her as she nods off to sleep in her own bed, listening to all the things she shares with me about school, her friends, her thoughts, that she never shares at any other time. I love the smile on her face when I finally let her in our bed and she feels so safe and snug and cuddles up next to me, warm, and sweet smelling. I will miss all those things when she is too old to want to snuggle anymore and I will regret the time I tried to kick her out. But for the sake of my own health and happiness, I need space to sleep. I do let her come in bed with us at 5:00 a.m. figuring by then I have gotten a lot of rest and I can enjoy the snuggle for a few hours. Hopefully, it will be enough. Enough for Sam and enough for me.

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