I don't know what I'm going to do.

I am beginning to dread putting Isaiah to bed at bedtime.  It seems every night, between midnight and three a.m. in the morning, I am ripped from a deep sleep by the sounds of a child screaming.  

I make sure that Isaiah is read to, cuddled, tucked in, kissed, hugged.  I don't know what I am doing wrong because it seems I cannot do anything to prevent the nightmares from happening.

I suppose this is to be expected: after all, Isaiah is only three; nightmares are fairly common in children his age.  I make sure that he doesn't watch any scary shows or read him books about monsters or bad people.  I just wonder if anything has happened to him at playcare to cause him so much distress ...

I do the ightly routine: check underneath his bed for "invisible monsters" or make a big production of searching Isaiah's closet, to make sure that there aren't any suspicious creatures taking up residence there.  So far, no monsters have been located, but then, I keep telling msyelf (and Isaiah) that there are no such thing as monsters.  Monsters are only pretend, I try to reassure him after I've completed the monster hunt.

I have already decided that tonight I am going to sit by Isaiah's bed all night and make sure that he sleeps through the night, uninterrupted.  After a week of his screaming, I am at my wit's end and am rather exhausted.  It's no wonder I end up taking a nap halfway through the day, just so I can get my energy back (and this heatwave surely isn't helping matters any).  

I'm just glad I have only one son to take care of; having to deal with one child's nightmares is enough; I can't imagine having to deal with this in more than one child.  I'm also glad that Jeff (my husband) is there to take care of Isaiah when I'm napping.  Or my mother, who lives with us.  Both can help in a pinch if it is needed.

I wonder if I should sit up with my husband's baseball bat, just in case any monsters (or other creatures of the night) decide to invade my precious Isaiah's room ...

Sounds like a good plan ...

~To be continued.~