Since my birthday on April 23rd, Niko has been extremely difficult when it comes to going to bed. He runs around like a crazy maniac screaming and laughing! Before this, he went to sleep very easily around 7:00 pm, now it’s around 8:00 pm and for a few weeks, it was around 9:00 pm. Yeah, not fun and very stressful for Nina and I.
We have tried a lot of different things; some have worked and some haven’t. One thing that does seem to work is a rewards chart outside his room. If he is easy and doesn’t fight it, he gets a star and with that star comes a little toy and treats the next day. If not, he gets nothing. After he gets 7 stars, he gets a little bit bigger toy and after 4 weeks, he gets an even bigger toy! So, yeah, this sometimes works! He is not running around crazy as much now and when it happens, I don’t chase him. I just wait till he is done. I will say, each day seems to be better and we still have nights of no stars, but this is something new for all of us and, I really hope this is a phase and will it return to normality soon.
For me, it’s a lot harder (especially, during the week), because after working a full day from home and then afterwards, I get to immediately play with him, feed him, and get him cleaned. I do get Nina’s help after she finishes her work (she also works from home and starts after I finish) for the nighttime routine with Niko; playing, reading books, and eventually tucked in his bed for sleeping. So, after Niko is finally sleeping, which is now around 8:00 pm, I can finally do schoolwork, but only for a few minutes because my brain is fried and very tired. For the past few weeks, Nina has been doing the midnight shift to wake Niko and get him to pee and I still do the 3:30 am shift.
Just so you can know my schedule after Niko is sleeping, here is an example:
8:00 pm -Niko is sleeping!
8:00 to 8:15 pm – I fold laundry and gather my clothes for the next day. I also gather anything from upstairs that needs to go downstairs.
8:15 to 8:30 pm – I clean the kitchen, scoop cat poop/pee, and take the trash out.
8:30 to 8:45 pm – I eat dinner and enjoy the quiet for a few minutes.
8:45 to 10:oo pm – I do school stuff.
10:00 to 10:15 pm – I am upstairs in bed and read for a few minutes and eventually drift off in a nice sleep!
Midnight – If I have to wake up for a Niko pee, I do and if not, I sleep and let Nina handle it. This really helps me when she does it because I can work for little bit longer on school stuff.
3:30 am – I wake up for a Niko pee.
7:00 am – I wake up for work! During the weekends, I wake up when Niko wakes up which is usually around 7:30 am or 8:00 am.
Nina and I have barely anytime for us and I barely have anytime for my myself. But, this is how it is for now and I hope that as time rolls on, it will get easier.
