Color Me Confused...

Okay, so at one point I was so excited that a certain technique worked at keeping Garrett in his bed at night. No more. Since that post, things have definitely gone downhill. As time went on, he kept getting up more and more, then I tried time-outs, yelling, and I even threatened to spank him (which I REALLY don't want to do). I've been so frustrated with this. And it's not just getting him into bed, it seemed to couple with him waking up frequently in the middle of the night crying. Both of these together make for a really bad night's sleep.

So Saturday night, Doug and I decided there was only one thing left for us to try- the doorknob cover on the inside of his room. We did use it once, but he freaked out and we never tried it again. This time we were going to give it one week and see how it worked, but we had to wait for a night that I was home to put Garrett to bed because Doug would never comply with it on his own if I wasn't home too.

So last night, I gave Garrett a bath, brushed his hair and he brushed his teeth, then found a book to bring to bed for me to read. His hugged and kissed Daddy goodnight and we went into his room. I grabbed the doorknob cover and he helped me put it on. He even cheered when it latched together. I tried talking to him and explaining what it does and what will happen if he tries to open the door. He did try opening the door, but because I was in there with him he didn't cry or get scared. I just explained that the door is now "stuck" that it means he has to stay in his room and be a big boy.

After reading, prayers, hugs, kisses and rocking, I told him that I would leave his door open just a little bit. The first time he gets up, Mommy will close the door and he will have to stay in his room the rest of the night. He didn't really seem to get it, but I thought maybe leaving the door open at first might be of some comfort for him as he's trying to go to sleep. I left his room and left the door open about an inch, fully expecting him to be up in a heartbeat as usual. I sat on the couch with Doug and told him what I did. A minute later, I got up to check to see if he was at the door, because I didn't hear anything. He wasn't there. I must have checked 10-15 more times, expecting to see a little white face appearing in the crack of his door, but nothing. I started getting nervous, thinking he would start the nightmare as Doug and I were trying to go to bed, but nothing! Not only did I NEVER have to return him to bed and lock him in his room, but he slept the whole night through, without waking once! I even left his door open throughout the night, but I did put the gate across his door in case he woke in the night. I certainly didn't want him to start the freak out process at 2:30 am!

So, I'm really confused. Doug and I have tried everything reasonable to get him to stay in his bed, and the first time we really buckle down and try to take control, he has no problem! It made me feel a little bad that if all he wanted was the door open at night, it was a simpler fix than I could have ever imagined. However, tonight may be a different story. I'll do everything the same, but now I'm scared that last night was fluke.

Please pray for Garrett (and my sanity) that this issue can be resolved this easily!