Oh, these weary eyes

Have I mentioned on the blog before that I am taking college courses online? Well, I am. (and no, we will not be discussing the merits or the faults of online colleges right now) One of the courses I am taking right now is a religious studies course. This week we are studying Buddhism. At the top of the chapter it has this quote, “He will deliver by the boat of knowledge the distressed world.”

But what I saw at first glance was, "He will deliver a boat-load of knowledge."

Perhaps my eyes need rest.

Speaking of rest....

I am still flip-flopping on what to do about Meechi's sleep issues. I did give him melatonin on Thursday night. He went to sleep quickly and woke up at about 5am, but came and got in bed with us and went back to sleep. It was a good night.

The next night I have him melatonin again, and once again he went to sleep quickly. However, this time he woke up around midnight and stayed awake all night. ALL night! I was going to say that it is fortunate that it was a Friday and he didn't have school the next day, but honestly it would not have mattered. He was going strong all day Saturday. He even had his first soccer game at 11 that day and the lack of sleep did not phase him at all. It was around 6:30 that evening that it caught up with him and he finally just fell asleep on the floor in the midst of eating dinner. (no, we will not be discussing the fact that i let the kid eat dinner on the floor in front of the TV right now either) He slept through the night and got over twelve hours of much needed sleep.

I wasn't sure what to think last night in regard to giving him melatonin. One night it helped and the next he was up all night. Around 10:30 when he was still awake and showing no signs of falling asleep I decided to give it to him. He was asleep within fifteen minutes. He slept until about 7:30 this morning.

Now I am truly conflicted on what to do. If he takes it tonight will he sleep all night? Or will he wake up ready for another all-nighter?

I am really leaning toward the idea of making him a weighted blanket and seeing if that will help. I have strong suspicions that it will. Of course until the weather cools a bit it might be too hot for him to sleep under one. If I make one then I could start on it soon and the weather should be cooler when it gets done, so I am really thinking that is what I will do. In the meantime? Not sure!

Thanks to everyone who commented either here at the blog, through email, or on facebook about sleep issues and about melatonin. It is helpful to hear from others about their experiences. I did receive some good suggestions for alternative ideas that we might try. A suggestion for a weighted blanket which is something I have been considering for a very long time anyway was probably most helpful as it sort of backed up what I was already thinking. One thing that I found kind of funny is how some people suggested a bath before bed in order to relax a child, while others told how bedtime baths wound their kids up. Meechi is definitely in the category of kids who get wound up by a bath, so it is not a viable option for us. I do think that a more structured bedtime routine may be in order though. I have to fight my own bad habits on that one though!

As for me.... I am off to get a boat-load of knowledge. ;)