Fairy Dust...

Like all kids, Lewie has an active imagination, especially at night.  Starting as early as age two, he'd be worried about open closets, large shadows, and mysterious noises inside or outside the house.  At age three, he'd be worried about one more thing--bad dreams.

I often wonder why kids have nightmares or night terrors.  (There's a difference; you can read about them here.)  Evidently, it sounds like they can become worse in preschool, and even such anxieties like starting kindergarten can be a cause for them.  My little boy has a tendency to dream about ghosts, witches, and all around scary stuff, which has been a reason for me to reduce his intake of Scooby Doo.    I have to say that since his fascination with Scooby Doo has been replaced by Thomas the Train, he appears to have less scary dreams--a major plus for Thomas to say the least.

One night, when Lewie was nearing age three, he had a bad dream and was inconsolable.  He insisted on going to bed with Mommy and Daddy, and if this couldn't happen, then he wanted to go downstairs to watch cartoons instead.  Being very tired and worried about another long day at work, I was desperate to get my little boy back to sleep without bringing him into our cramped queen bed.  I brainstormed, and then it hit me...my fairy dust.

Years ago, I bought fairy dust, a very light, shimmery powder, at a Renaissance Fair.  I'd use it on my skin and around my eyes if I was going out dancing, but now that my dancing days had expired, I had no use for the powder...

"Lewie, I have something that will give you good dreams," I said enthusiastically.  "It's a very special secret.  Do you want to see it?"

Of course, Lewie wanted to see it.  What kid can resist a secret?

I told him to wait in his bedroom as I fumbled for it in the bathroom.  When I finally reentered his bedroom, I let him watch me take it out of a soft, navy blue, velvet pouch.  "When I want to have good dreams, I just put a little fairy dust on my wrists and forehead," I said, "then I think about things that make me happy."

Well, Lewie didn't just want the fairy dust on his wrists and forehead.  He wanted me to sprinkle it on his pillow, put some on his palms, and of course, he wanted to touch it for himself.  I must say the fairy dust does look and feel pretty magical.

That night, he slept "like a baby" (no pun intended), and now, to this day, we still use it to ward off bad dreams.  Sometimes he asks for it before he goes to bed, and sometimes he doesn't remember to ask for it until after he's woken up from a bad dream.  The only thing I can say is that my fairy dust does the trick.  It brings happy thoughts and peace to my little boy, so I plan to use it for as long as he will let me...

"Mommy, can you put some fairy dust on me?" my little guy asks tonight before we start his bedtime ritual of bedtime stories and a prayer.

"I sure can, my Little Lewie.  I sure can..."

I wish I had fairy dust when I was younger to ward off all of my bad dreams...

Who knew this little jar could have medicinal properties like drinking Chamomile tea before bed?

You’ve Gotta Love Bedtime Rituals

“My little guy goes to bed at 7 p.m. every night and doesn’t wake up until 7 in the morning,” my friend bragged during our sons’ scheduled play date. Okay, she didn’t actually brag, but I perceived it as bragging because I so wanted that to be my reality.

“Really?” I asked, trying not to sound envious.

“Yes, how about you? What time does your son go to bed?” she asked.

“Well, it varies. I haven’t gotten him on a schedule just yet,” I answered vaguely.

For the life of me, I wasn’t going to actually tell her that my twenty-two month old stays awake until 11:30 p.m. at night.

You see, once my little boy goes to bed, he has an inner alarm clock that tells him to wake up in nine hours. (Of course, sometimes he wakes up repeatedly at night if he’s teething or has a bad belly—that’s another story.) Nine hours isn’t bad…it just means that if he goes to bed at 7 p.m., he will wake up for 4 a.m. If he goes to bed at 10 p.m., then he won’t wake up until 7 a.m. You get the drift.

Since we don’t want Lil’ Lewie to wake up too early (especially since it’s summer, and I have the time off to be with him), I’ve been very lax with his bedtime routine. I pretty much let him play, play, play, until he’s either interested in relaxing in our arms or finding a place on the couch or floor to make himself comfortable. On some nights, it feels like my husband or I fall asleep on the couch watching TV first before our little guy actually shows an interest in winding down. Then, once he does fall asleep, we whisk him away upstairs to his crib. It’s a good way to avoid unnecessary complaining or whining, but it’s bad for creating a schedule. Waiting for our little guy to fall asleep by himself downstairs takes a lot of patience, and it can happen as soon as 9 p.m. or as late as 11:30 p.m.

After watching an episode on Dr. Phil and doing some reading on my own, I discovered, surprise surprise, that Lil’ Lewie would be much better about falling asleep if we created a bedtime ritual for him. (I know what you’re thinking…yeah, shocker!) The truth of the matter is that we needed Lil’ Lewie to get used to falling asleep, not downstairs, but in his own room at a scheduled time—a scheduled time, ideally before 11:30 p.m.—a scheduled time ideally before my husband and I fall asleep and Lil’ Lewie is still awake roaming the house.

I took the advice of so many other mothers before me and decided to get him on a routine this week. Starting this past Monday, I’d get Lil’ Lewie in his pajamas around 8:30ish and give him his last sippy cup of milk for the night. Then, I’d have him come to the sink to brush his teeth (this is another story all by itself), and I’d bring him up to his crib where I would read him a story, sing to him, and kiss him goodnight. I’ve kept this consistent throughout the week, and it’s worked like a charm. Sure my little guy fusses for the first few minutes after I leave the room, but then, all of a sudden…it’s quiet. It worked like magic!

My husband and I aren’t the smartest of people. It’s taken us some time to catch up to speed with the rest of the parents in the world who have it together. All I can say is that sometimes copying other people’s tricks is what it’s all about.