What to do??

WE ask  ourselves what to do with our latest "battle" with Lindsay.  Maybe not a "battle", more of an "issue" or "phase" she is going through.  Looking back over her life, there are periods of time where we deal with these issues, phases or battles, whatever they might be.

When she was about three years old, all of a sudden one night at bedtime she didn't want to sleep in her bed. We would put her to bed, she would get up and after getting tired would fall asleep on the floor by her door. After many nights of trying to get her to stay in bed, we gave up and she literally made a bed on the floor. Her big bed was never slept in and it stayed made up with bedspread, sham and pillows while she had her blankets and pillow by the door that she really slept on. This went on for about two years! We finally did get her to sleep in her bed but had to move to a new home, get a new bed and either Jerry or I would literally have to stay with her until she fell asleep for her to stay put! I remember thinking, "will this ever end?"

Well, it did! Now onto this next phase!  Now she wants to have her lights on AND her tv on all night! We will put the tv on timer only to have her turn it back on again with the volume up. We started unscrewing the light bulbs in her lamps which only made her frustrated and she broke the turn knob trying to make it work. We have now started unplugging the lamps at bedtime and we haven't figured out the tv situation yet.

We worry that she isn't getting a good nights sleep, however, she seems to get up and go about her day without any naps.  So, are we over-reacting? Just because we like the room dark and quiet when we sleep, does she? Is it just a side effect from the seizure medicine she is on? Just like we gave in and let her sleep on the floor for two years, should we just let it go, let her keep the lights on, watch tv with one eye open all night? 

We are realizing that as she gets older, more independent, knowing what she likes and dislikes, that we have to give up some control. Yet, when her tv is waking us up in the middle of the night, we ponder, what to do?

This too shall end, just hopefully sooner than two years!