Night Terror

A while back I wrote about Jackson having nightmares. Read about that here. I never dealt with nightmares before and it made me so sad to see him frightened. Well anyway... he doesn't wake up having bad dreams anymore. But me.. yeah, different story.

It's really hard to explain my dreams. I still have a normal one every night- I remember it vividly. But it's only after I wake up from a horrifying one. And the horrifying one is the same type of dream EVERY time. It's so strange to me.

The dream is simple and goes just like this-

I go to bed, whether it's my own home or I still live with my Mom, it varies. I turn the light out and start to fall asleep when an evil spirit/ghost starts trying to get me. Whatever it is trying to "get" me, weighs me down to where I can't move or open my eyes but I am awake and aware that something is happening. After feeling like I've tried to move for 10 minutes, I finally wake up.
It seems SO real.
When the dreams first started happening, I was so afraid that there really was an evil spirit after me. I pray constantly about it but the feeling kind of never eases. It's creepy. And I wish they would just stop.

It's not just the dreams that make me think that.
Weird stuff happens around my house all the time.
I grew up in the house I live in now, and everyone that has known our home, knows it's haunted. My Mom swears it's a good ghost because nothing bad ever happened when she lived there. But I feel something totally different. I always question what I could have done to piss it off... because I just know it isn't my Dad (or any other loved one, for that matter!).
My lamp flickers on and off. Jentri's book flips open and closed, making the little rhyme sound. I hear creeking footsteps. Feel weird presences. One time my cupboards kept opening. I went in the kitchen 3 times and shut the same two cupboards, when I finally was like... what the hell is going on here? So I shut it- made sure... and yet again, it was open.
It's mostly just those creepy dreams that feel so real that make me scared.

Ugh... stupid dreams.
I'm going to try some melatonin. Everyone says that will help me sleep.
Lets hope so because I'm kind of tired of the 3 hour sleep nights. Literally, tired.

Nightmares

I remember 9 out of 10 dreams. In all of my life... I can only recall having 4 or 5 nightmares. But Jackson... he wakes up every night crying and shaking because of a bad dream. Last night he woke me, in fear, because he dreamt that his hand got cut off after I had left him all alone.

Why do little kids have to go through these things?! It's horrible. I'm twenty years old and would be startled by that dream!

So I've been doing a little research on nightmares... and I really don't know where to stand with the whole dream thing. At times I've believed that somehow dreams are connected to your thoughts/actions/feelings. Then at times I'm thought maybe it was a sign of something. And other times when I think they happen, just because!

This website says that nightmares may be caused by their rapidly expanding grasp of real life perils-{like car accidents, violence, and death.} Nightmares could stem from hearing a scary story, watching an upsetting TV show, getting excited or worked up before bed, or feeling anxious or nervous throughout the day.

Jackson is by far not shelterted. And it's times like this that I wish I could do something about that. His Dad watches rated R movies with him... he plays rated R games with Gage... his Grandma watches Intervention and other yucky{? :/} shows while he's there... and I'm not innocent! He bites his nails constantly and it makes me think he is nervous all the time because that's what I do when I'm nervous.

I feel like Jackson's problems are my problems. I'm his Mom! And I feel like I'm in control of how he feels and what he does.
I want my son to be happy and I'm going to do everything in my power to make that happen.

Starting with the after school/day care chart that I posted about yesterday- that is one way to get him on a organized schedule. Nothing big, but I think it will help.

Now- although I know I'm not fully in charge of his dreams/nightmares... after reading about them on the internet, there are a few things you can do to help and get them under control.

1} Get into a healthy sleep routione. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Don't eat, read or watch scary shows before bed.

2} Sleep with a stuffed animal or toy that makes you feel comfortable. -I'm going to let him make a dream catcher to hang above his bed, and I'm going to make him a new blanket and stuffed animal for bedtime only.

3} Get a nightlite. -We used to have one but it was so small that it didn't even light up the room. Better start looking for some good nightlite options.

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Maybe some of this along the outside of the room.

found here

How about this cool little guy to sit on the dresser...

found here

How about some simple lantern lights strung above his bed...

found here

Whoooo knows!!!!

But I'm gonna make my baby comfortable cuz this is makin' me sad.