Sometime around the end of summer between kindergarten and first grade, Morgan began to complain of nightmares. They really horrified him. The descriptions horrified us. His behaviors during the day had us all scared, too.
Somehow, I think Bay knew the solution before we did.
During Morgan's rough time in first grade, Bay's hero worship of his brother hit an all time high. Not only was Morgan the "bestest," but he had a super power called autism, too? Cool. But Morgan was having nightmares, still. He was being bullied.
I would come upstairs during the nights to check on them and find Bay snuggled up in his brother's bed across the hall. I knew it disturbed Morgan's sleep, so I would move him back to his own smaller bed. But by morning, I would find Morgan grumpy and complaining that his brother had not only crept back to his room, he had also staged an all night rager to boot and kept him up.
"Look," I told them, "only weekends are for sleepovers. Bay, you have to stay in your own bed and let Morgan sleep."
Morgan didn't like this idea. His bed was his bed. Why in the world would he share it with the ginger?
But we... did some test runs. First, it was that Fridays were "sleepover nights." I would allow Bay to bring "Oafie," named after his older brother's bear Oaf, and wiggle in beside his brother. They would watch a movie in bed, maybe eat some junk food and go to sleep. I would then move Bay back to his room.
After a couple of weeks, Morgan was looking forward to "sleepover night." Then Saturday was added as another sleepover night.
Morgan's nightmares, while they didn't stop, died down. I think knowing that Bay was there to help him slay the boogieman helped with that.
I would still hear the pitter patter of my youngest son's feet across the ceiling above as I laid in my bed during the week, but I would get up, redirect him, and wouldn't have to make so many trips back upstairs.
Morgan learned the days of the week because of sleepover nights, so did Bay. When we moved to Louisiana, we took a three bedroom apartment. We worried about them sharing a room, until the solution of bunk beds was pointed out.
Would sleepover nights be canceled since they shared a room? Oh no... they are still, after a year of living here, very much alive. The boys look forward to them- a lot.
 |
| Sleepover, last night. Sometimes we make a fort, too. |
They are each other's best friends. I'm so thankful for that.
love it!
ReplyDeleteI think this may be the sweetest thing ever! <3
ReplyDeleteThis is sweet! Our boys are also the best of friends. The youngest moved out of his crib and into a twin bed a little over a year ago. That bed has gotten more use from my dad when he comes to visit than it has from Isaac. We started letting him sleep in his brother's [full size] bed when the weather turned cold last year, as Isaac's room stays the coldest (or hottest, depending on the season). We wanted to make sure he stayed warm. He did, by cuddling with his brother. We tried to put him to sleep in his own bed, but he'd always end up in Thomas' bed before the night was over. We don't fight it anymore. Unfortunately for Thomas, Isaac flops around in his sleep like a fish out of water, but both boys are to the point they won't sleep without the other one with them, so they have learned to adjust. I love checking on them during the night and seeing them sleeping back-to-back. I reflect on those sweet moments when, during the day, Thomas is kicking Isaac and Isaac is biting Thomas. The reflections remind me that the boys do love each other. ;)
ReplyDeleteAwe! So sweet! I love this!
ReplyDelete