Beth went to asleep at 10pm last night, if not before. As you know I had been to the chemist on Tuesday and had gotten some Melatonin chewable tablets. Kevin the Chemist had said that adults take 3 – 5 a night so we would be safe giving Beth 2 – 3 as she is the size of a young woman now. Tuesday night we tried 2. I had given them to her about 7.30 as the suggestion is to give them 3o minutes before bedtime. I went to sleep after 10 and she was still awake then. I called Paul at work in the morning to ask what time she went to sleep but he had fallen asleep on the couch! She had been fairly calm though.
Last night I gave Beth 3 of the tablets. She went off to bed ok and even turned the light off early so I thought woohoo, here we go! Then she was up and down for the toilet and a drink a couple of times. In between those times however she was quiet so I thought at the very least that it had calmed her ‘restless legs’ and allowed her to rest easier. I heard the light go on again at 9.30 so went in to turn it off. I told her that because we had Richard Malter today and Sensational Kids that I wanted to give her a good night’s sleep. That was the last of it! When I went in to check at 10 she was asleep.
Beth has the ability to wake herself up and fight any attempts to help her sleep. I think if I had let her continue reading she would have gone to sleep later but it’s like she knows that she’s drifting off and fights it. When younger I would give her a massage to help her calm down. The first night I did this she was off like a light really quickly. The only time. Eventually the little bugger had me massaging frantically for up to 1/2 an hour and then still going to sleep really late!
I’m always scared that she’ll pass the tired phase. I remember going to the Lasers Disco as a teen and getting to about 1 or 2am and being exhausted. If I went home then I’d crash, but if I stayed another hour and then went home my head would be spinning and I’d lay there wide awake. That’s how I think Beth is, she fights to stay awake and then has a real problem when she gets past it. Only time will tell. Hopefully we’ll have good responses today because she’s slept so well. Will keep you posted.