Time for Bed. Lights ON?

Joey and I thought we were completely over the "get little sleep" and "teach your kid how to sleep on their own" phases of parenthood. We got through sleepless nights that are to be expected caring and nursing a 0-6 month old. We made it past random screams of panic (I just realized I'm all alone in my crib) in the middle of the night when they were around 9 months and again around 11 months.  We survived potty training and dealt with only a few accidents in the middle of the night when Layla was around 2 1/2 years old. 

We are dealing with sleep troubles yet again. Here is the situation. 

It all started after we returned home from Grandma's and Grand-pap's house. Layla and Faven shared a room and they loved every second of it! They had full blown conversations for, some nights, hours before they settled down and went to sleep. They were adorable! It made Joey and I think seriously about Layla and Faven sharing a room sooner than later. 

Layla started sleeping per usual in her own bed when we noticed that her ceiling light was on when she woke up. The light was always off while sleeping at Grammy's house and prior to our trip. A few nights later, it went to the extreme. She started sleeping on her bedroom floor close to the hallway with the door half open. She kept every light on including two plug-in night-lights, a lamp, a very bright ceiling light with 4 light bulbs and two flashlights close by.

We found her sleeping on our bedroom floor and on the couch in the living room...where it was dark. The living room seems so much more scary than her room. Strange. We don't think she was sleep walking either.

We asked her on a number of occasions to give us reasons why she isn't staying in her bed. She usually tells us, simply, that she is scared. She said she is scared because Mom and Dad aren't in her room with her. Interesting.  I guess she had forgotten that we never slept with her in her room nor did she in our room.

We are hoping that this is just a phase. This situation reminds us of when she was terrified to take a bath for about a month straight when Layla was almost 2 years old. We tried everything. New toys, books, music, bathing in a baby bathtub in the living room...you name it. Then one day, her fear went away all together. We just kept at it and didn't change her bath routine. Back then we bathed Layla every night. We are lucky if we bath them 3 times a week now. Hosing them off after a swim out back does the trick! No green hair from chlorine like when I was a kid swimming every day at Whitehall Country Club. We must be doing something right! No, Mom, it wasn't your fault, I know you bathed us...enough. Key-key's hair was suspect, though.  Anyways....

I think we are trying our best to not make this a big deal. We tell ourselves that it's just another phase. We will get through this.

We talked about it again as a family a few nights ago. I said that tonight will be different. Tonight we will tell your room, "no more scaries". This lovely conversation with her room helped. At least she doesn't roam around the house in the middle of the night anymore.

So far this week she has stayed in her room all night...with the lights on.. on the floor. We tell her every morning that we are proud of her for staying in her room and leave it at that. We took out three light bulbs from her ceiling fan and turned off her lamp. She sleeps. It's an improvement.