He of little sleep

    Last was rough for us, Cullen has never been huge on sleep but last night he was flat out refusing. I did not get home until 9:00 from work. He was already in bed but when my husband left for work my oldest Colton woke up saying he felt sick so I let him come out of his room. I put on a movie for him and that must have woke Cullen up. So I went to get him out of bed figuring he just wanted some mommy time. But when he got out he was kicking and screaming and saying no! So I put him back to bed and told Colton to go to my room he could sleep in there. I brought Cullen a water, found his duck (he adores ducks) and sang him his song. That usually works but last night nothing would calm him down . My sister-in-law got him a weighted blanket and sometimes that works in calming him but he threw that, which is not easy that thing is heavy.
   

  The sleep problems for us started when he was three. As a baby he slept fairly normal, sleeping through the night at about three months and continuing that pattern until three.
    It started with him being hard to settle down, I always sing him a little song or read him a story but he started wanted more and more. I would lay with him until his breathing slowed and then try to sneak out but he would pop up like a Jack in the Box the moment I reached the door. So I talked to my mom (if I ever have a problem she is who I go to first ,mama always knows best), talked to my husband and read all the mom stuff and the general consensus was let him cry it out.
   Only that did not go over to well, oh he cried and kicked and screamed, until I feared for his safety inside the room. He would kick the door so hard it would shake the house slam his fists on the windows so that I was afraid he would shatter them. So then I thought I will just put him in the bed with me, but he did not like that either. He would get up and wander around the room banging on the door and crying. So then I made him a little playlist on my iPod and would let him fall asleep with it. I put all the songs I would sing to him on it, Beautiful Boy by John Lennon, When you say Nothing at all, by Allison Krauss. The playlist became my way of communicating with him. Even though we can not talk to each other I could tell him how I felt through song.
   The iPod worked for several months until a flaw appeared in the plan. While the music lulled him to sleep it did not keep him asleep. The first instance of him getting out of bed occurred shortly after moving to our new house. My husband woke me up saying our bedroom door had opened and he thought maybe on of the boys was out of bed, After a complete examination I could find no evidence of boys out of bed. So for a few weeks I was convinced my house was haunted (I really need to cut back on the ghost hunting shows). Then it happened again but this time he ran into his brothers room instead of his own by mistake and there was quite a scene because now his older brother thought it was a ghost and it took a long time to get everyone settled and back into the correct bed. So with him getting up in the middle of the night and roaming the house I was more scared than if it had been a ghost. What if he got out of the house somehow? What if he got ahold of something dangerous? So my husband the handyman turned his door knob around so we could lock him in at night.
   So instead of getting up and wandering around he would now kick his doors with thunderous noise. I tried everything to get him to settle back down, bribe him with cookies and juice. But most nights would end up with me watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with him at 4:00 in the morning. So I consulted the books again and tried the vitamin supplement melatonin. Some people use it with great success but I saw no change in his sleep.
   After several weeks feeling about as well rested as I did with a newborn something had to give. I had heard of parents giving their children medicine at night to put them to sleep and I had always scoffed at it. Well never judge anyone because you never know when you will be in there shoes. I called my pediatrician and set up an appointment to discuss it.
   I figured the worst she could say is that there is no such thing as baby ambien and just suggest the vitamin we were already using unsuccessfully. God love her she took one look at the bags under my eyes and the pleading tone in my voice and gave me mercy. She prescribed him a pill called clonidine, and no it is not a baby ambien. It is used as a blood pressure medication in most people but in children it works different. It is often prescribed for children with sleeping disorders and ADD.
    We have used the medicine for a year now and it as helped him greatly. It helps him get to sleep with out knocking him out, he also is able to stay asleep. Some nights like last night he still wakes up around midnight but usually he can fall asleep again with out a problem. He still likes for me to sing his favostand
g, it is a little song that played at the end if The Care Bears Movie II , have sang it to all three of my boys but it is Cullen and mine special song.
Hello old friend
It,s good to be with you
Time is standing still
Our love shines true and bright
It always will

My wishing star
Has guided all you do
My empty heart you fill
We still feel forever young

Looking back, we're just the same
As we were when we began

This love will keep protecting us
Just reach for me and I will take your hand

When we're apart
Just close your eyes
And you'll see me waiting there

You can always count on me
I will always care

My special friend
Inside my heart you'll stay
I'll be with you until
The sun shines through the night
It never will

My little star
You'll never fade away
The hands of time are still
And we'll be forever young