Someone’s been sleeping in my bed

When Lizze and I went to bed tonight, this is what greeted us. 💙 I knew Emmett was there already because I sang him to sleep, after he tried for almost two hours to go to sleep on his own.   When he came down stairs, we were surprised because he'd been up there for a couple hours and we figured he'd fallen asleep because we hadn't heard from him.  I walked him back upstairs and he curled up next to me in our bed. We played some music and I sang poorly to him.   He was asleep within a few minutes.  I wish I knew what was going on with him but he's just having the hardest time falling asleep in his bed.   On the positive side,…

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We are still struggling with sleep issues

Sleep issues are one of the more prolific symptoms that can present when someone's on the Autism Spectrum.  It's one of the more exhausting challenges as well.  Elliott and Emmett are both struggling with sleep issues.   Elliott wakes up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. Sometimes he's not able to fall asleep either.  On the other hand, Mr. Emmett can't seem to fall asleep in his own bed. He sneaks out of his bed after being tucked in and makes his way to our bed, where he proceeds to encase himself in our pillows and blankets.   We put him back in his bed after he's asleep and most of the time he'll stay there.   There are countless reasons why sleep can…

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It was another sleepless night for this Dad

It was a rough night last night.  While the boys slept through most of it, I couldn't sleep until 4am because I was too congested.  Lizze was unable to sleep as well but ended up falling asleep on the couch.  I'm totally dragging today.  Thankfully, there are only a few appointments today and nothing else really going on in between.  I'd kill for a nap right now but I don't see that happening anytime soon.  I really grateful that the kids are doing as well as they are today because I need all the help I can get.... 

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Two of my three kids with #Autism are still awake at 2am

Not long after my wife and I went to bed, both Elliott and Emmett woke up and can't go back to sleep. Rather than battling to keep them in bed and ultimately losing, I opted to eventually just camp out in the living room.  It's honestly, the best chance I have at getting them to go back to sleep. Getting them to go back to sleep means that I can go to sleep. Sleep issues like this are very common with kids on the Autism Spectrum and subsequently their parents as well.  It really does make life so much more challenging.

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I could see the distress in his eyes and it broke my heart

I tried again tonight to get Emmett to fall asleep in his own bed but it didn't go well. Emmett will give us a reason for his not being able to fall asleep in his bed.  We've heard things like his cat won't leave him alone, it's too dark, his bed is too high or he's afraid of his bad dreams. He mentioned to Lizze that he likes her really soft, fuzzy blanket and that's why he sleeps in our bed. While Lizze was away with her Mom tonight, I gave one of those blankets to Emmett and told him that we could try the blanket in his bed and if it works, we'll get him his own. That lasted all of ten minutes. He came downstairs and I could…

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The first was a fluke but the second gives me hope

For the second night in a row, Emmett has fallen asleep in his own bed. He struggled a little bit but Lizze walked him back upstairs and tucked him back in.   This is pretty big because I was excited about the first night but chalked it up to a fluke because I didn't want to get my hopes up.  Ha ing him fall asleep tonight in his own bed as well, has given me hope that we may be making progress here.   I have to give Lizze props because she's doing a fantastic job of working with him. Emmett's a kid who requires a great deal of patience Lizze really is such a good Mom and I'm so grateful to have her back.  In the morning, I'm gonna…

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Gavin isn’t sleeping tonight because why not

Emmett is sleeping, as is Elliott.  One would think this super awesome turn of events would see me finally getting some sleep. You would be wrong and here's why.  On a night when Emmett finally falls asleep before midnight, Gavin decides that he's not going to be able to sleep now. Obviously, Gavin isn't choosing to do this, it just sucks that he is unable to sleep, especially since Emmet and Elliott both, are sleeping.   I've no idea what's going on with Gavin but frankly, this is unusual for him.  The poor kid is really frustrated and there's not a whole lot we can do to help him. I will say that I think it may have something to do with the horrible dream he had on Wednesday night.…

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I just can’t catch a break

I just can't catch a break at this point.  Thankfully, Emmett fell asleep and is still sleeping. Unfortunately, shortly after he fell asleep, Elliott woke up and after trying for awhile to go back asleep, we moved downstairs to the living room.  It's about 5am and he's still stuck in awake mode.   At this point, what's point in going to sleep now, even if I could? I'm so tired that I'm not even tired anymore, if that makes sense to anyone.  

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