Dylan is three and for the last couple months has been having issues with the dark. He hasn't shown any indication that he is afraid of the dark, but he will get up and turn on his lamp in the middle of the night, then go back to bed. He has two night lights and I leave his overhead on low (it's on a dimmer), but apparently it needs to be bright, high-noon type lighting in his bedroom. When we notice the light on, we go in and turn it back off again.
In the last month we have started finding him up looking through books with the light on. Sometimes he does this within an hour of our putting him down, sometimes after waking in the middle of the night. Usually I just tell him that it's time to go to sleep and tuck him back in bed again.
Within the last couple weeks, he has been calling for me or my husband after bedtime and requesting more water, a new diaper, lotion for an itch, some adjustment of his bedding, etc. etc. etc.
Part of what is happening is that we just had another baby, so I think this is a bid for attention. I generally meet the need, whatever it is, and then get him back in bed under the covers and tucked in, stressing that it is time to go to sleep.
My main concern is that he is not getting enough rest. At his daycare, if the kids are not tired during naptime they can read quietly instead of napping. He sometimes asks to read a book in bed before he goes to sleep, and I'm pretty permissive about that, but now I'm wondering if I should be taking a harder line...
Any ideas? This isn't a major emergency, but he is trending towards less and less sleep and a weirder sleep cycle. And grumpiness during the day.
In the last month we have started finding him up looking through books with the light on. Sometimes he does this within an hour of our putting him down, sometimes after waking in the middle of the night. Usually I just tell him that it's time to go to sleep and tuck him back in bed again.
Within the last couple weeks, he has been calling for me or my husband after bedtime and requesting more water, a new diaper, lotion for an itch, some adjustment of his bedding, etc. etc. etc.
Part of what is happening is that we just had another baby, so I think this is a bid for attention. I generally meet the need, whatever it is, and then get him back in bed under the covers and tucked in, stressing that it is time to go to sleep.
My main concern is that he is not getting enough rest. At his daycare, if the kids are not tired during naptime they can read quietly instead of napping. He sometimes asks to read a book in bed before he goes to sleep, and I'm pretty permissive about that, but now I'm wondering if I should be taking a harder line...
Any ideas? This isn't a major emergency, but he is trending towards less and less sleep and a weirder sleep cycle. And grumpiness during the day.
