I feel like we are on a roll. I’ve been praying for wisdom lately. Specifically, wisdom for helping Josiah. I’ve known for a long time he needs much more than we have been giving him. I’m excited he will be getting a new bouncy chair very soon. I think it will make a huge difference with him sitting, well, bouncing really, at the kitchen table. Might make meal times much more challenging now that I think about it. But we’ll save that for another time.

With the chair dilemma resolved for the time being, I started thinking of other areas that need tweaking. Bedtime is definitely one of those times. You may recall it took 4 hours the other night for Josiah to fall asleep, in his own bed.

Part of the problem was his ridiculously high level of energy. He bounced and bounced and bounced so long and so hard I really thought the bed was going to break.

I have been giving serious thought to taking the mattress off the frame so Josiah can just sleep closer to the floor. It will protect the furniture and it will protect Josiah. I did some research on line. I found some interesting options. Did you know someone has created a Jumpy Bed? Basically, it’s a rectangular shaped trampoline the same size as a twin mattress. The trampoline is the base of the bed. Plop a mattress on top and the child sleeps. The next day, when the kid needs to burn off some energy, push the mattress off the frame and up against the wall. The child bounces to his hearts content.

I actually gave that bed some contemplation. Then, I saw the price. Only $969 for the trampoline that becomes a bed. It’s on sale. It used to be $1426. No jumpy bed for Josiah. It gave me an idea though. I thought about using an inflatable air mattress on the floor for Josiah. He could bounce. He’d be low to the ground. Might work. But I wanted to do more research.

Eventually, I stumbled across a site that offers just the thing we may need. A mom of an Autistic boy was having great difficulty getting her son to sleep at night and especially with keeping him in his own bed all night long. She’s not alone. Many parents of kids with disabilities experience similar frustrations.

Why is it these kids require so little sleep? If only we could bottle their energy and sell it. We’d have more than enough money to purchase all the extremely expensive things we need for them, like therapy dogs and Temple Grandin hug machines and disability bikes and ABA therapy services and live in help and I could go on and on.

Sleep is a huge issue. Without adequate sleep, we as parents have little to give to our kids who demand so much. So, tackling the sleep concern is the next thing I really felt strongly about. This woman had a child still in a crib who was clearly old enough to be out of a crib. It just made life easier for them to keep him contained in some type of enclosure.

She searched the web for a good alternative but found nothing suitable. So, she designed her own. She created a tent her child could peacefully sleep in. A twin sized mattress fits inside the tent. The flaps zip shut. She designed one for boys and one for girls. What a great idea. She now sells them to others.

I read a few reviews. Most parents had great reports. Their kids loved the enclosure. They felt more secure. They slept better. They stayed in their beds at night. The parents slept better. That was all I needed to read.

Josiah’s new tent has been ordered. Hopefully, it will ship soon. I’m curious to see how he will respond to it. Josiah is 10. He’s had many years of sleeping with nothing closing him in. This may not go as smoothly as I hope. We shall see.

I texted my sister the other day, Found a sleep tent made specifically for kids with Autism…mattress fits inside. You zip them in at night and they can’t escape….ordered it! Won’t he freak out if he is zipped inside and can’t get out?, she texted back. (Hmmmm…hadn’t really thought of that. I was just so excited to find something ‘cute’ and functional, that’s worked for lots of people and might afford us more peaceful nights of sleep.)

Her next line of text explains very clearly why God made her the older sister. It is one of the many reasons I adore her. She has great wisdom and an even greater sense of humor. She knows all too well how often Josiah wakes in the middle of the night; how often he walks to our room, crawls over me and plops down most of the time right on top of me, and goes back to sleep.

While I’m pondering Josiah potentially freaking out in his new tent and wondering if I will be able to get my money refunded if he does, she sends the perfect solution:

Maybe you should zip yourself inside the tent and he can’t get in!!!