NOTE: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.
This post was sponsored by the makers of BENADRYL®. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
It’s a warm summer night, and the day has been long. Play dates, splash pads, dining out, oh my! I’m just about ready to put my feet up and relax, when my husband gives me “that look”.
Oh no, I think to myself. Not tonight.
Sensing my hesitation, he raises his eyebrows and nods solemnly. “Yes”, he says before I can turn away. “You can’t avoid it tonight. Come on, Lena, no excuses.” I flinch. “It’s your turn to put the boys to bed.”
Ugh! Bedtime at my house is the worst. thing. ever. Sometimes it’s cute – tiny feet padding into our room after lights out; a tiny figure climbing onto our bed. But it’s endearing for about five minutes… and then the screaming begins.
“Get back to bed!”
“No more water! Time to sleep!”
“I’ve already read three stories! Go to bed!”
“Stop fighting! You’re supposed to be sleeping!”
(Captioned Above: “Can’t trust my boys to actually go to bed. Found Ryder sitting in a bucket reading a book to Reid, who somehow got his hands on two cookies – WTH?”)
I could go on, but I won’t. I’m not sure why my boys are so opposed to bedtime – to tell the truth, if this is foreshadowing into their teen years for curfews, I am downright terrified. But even though I hate the ongoing fight, I really do have their best interests at heart.
I want them to have a restful sleep, free of the troubles and stress that they’ll have to shoulder one day. I want them to snuggle under the warm covers, secure in the knowledge that they have a roof over their heads and loving hands to tuck them in. And most of all, I want them to enter the world of dreams, where anything is possible and their imaginations can soar freely.
In short, when they sleep better, I sleep better.
So, I do everything in my power to give them the best possible start. A warm bath; cuddles at bedtime. A whimsical story, an extra kiss good night. And during the summer months, I make sure to treat bug bites with the help of BENADRYL® Itch Relief Spray. It helps relieve my boys’ itching, so they can sleep tight… even if the bugs bite!
Non-stinging BENADRYL® Itch Relief Spray contains a topical antihistamine/ analgesic and a skin protectant to provide fast, effective relief at the source from itchiness and pain due to allergic itches, poison ivy, insect bites, mild sunburn or minor skin irritations. I’ve trusted BENADRYL® Allergy liquid for my boys’ skin irritations and allergic reactions for years, and now I’m happy to have an easy-to-apply, fast-acting anti-itch spray that can target the problem at the source.
And, an itch-less sleep is a good sleep.
Best of all, it’s portable – so it’s perfect for tropical vacations, camping, late evening sports, and all the other activities that leave us exposed to bug bites.
Bedtime at my house is really hard. REALLY hard. I challenge anyone to a battle of wills with my two boys! (I often say they’re like Voltron – separated, I can handle them, but together, their power becomes insurmountable.) However, if I can send them off to slumber feeling loved, content, and of course, comfortable, I feel like my work is done.
BENADRYL® doesn’t want itching to get in the way of a good night’s sleep! So, they’re offering one lucky reader the chance to win a $150 Walmart gift card! To enter, fill the form below with your qualifying entries. Good luck!
My thoughts
Coffee….it’s never affected me before but now a late night cup means hello Netflix!
I don’t miss those days at all fighting with the girls to get to bed, aren’t they lots of fun..lol, now a days it’s my own body that keeps me awake with being in so much pain it’s hard to get comfy and sleep
My kitties! They love to meow at me just as I’m drifting off…
Unable to breathe, stuffy nose
It’s the only me time I have when the kids are sleeping! So the only time motivates me to stay up.. LoL
*only me
stress
Thinking about the things I need to do.
well right now i am 36 weeks pregnant so the fact that i gotta wake up every couple hours to pee lol
i can’t shut my brain off at night, too much thinking about everything.
Stress from that day’s work, most of the time I love my job, but every job has THOSE days!
Well, my son now comes into my room at the same time every night and just crawls under the blanket and passes out…He has autism and has a routine, and I assumed that when it happened the first time at 12:20 am, he made it his routine to do it…until he explained to me that every night at the same time he rolls over in his sleep and the spring in his mattress pokes him and he can’t get comfy…so now each night I lay awake wondering what exactly I’m supposed to do with a situation that I can’t currently fix….
Could you turn the mattress over? Or buy a foam to go on top of the annoying spring? Yncomfortable mattresses are tricky!
when my little ones are sick :(
The only thing that can keep me up at night now is having a mosquito buzzing around my room – UGH.
My daughter is all grown up now – so I have done my time with the “bedtime bounce” and I can SO relate to your story Lena LOL
Wanting to move back home…
EEEEKKKK I have been a night crawler all my life, Usually up until around 3am and back up at 7am. horrible, Just cant turn my brain off lol
A cat that wants to meow all night and if it is not that than it is pain.
Itchy mosquito bites and my 3 cats sleeping in my room every night, one cat sleeps on the floor near some bags and ends up chewing the bags around 3 am, the second one sleeps on either my computer chair or sometimes on the floor beside my bed (and purrs really loud), and the third one likes to sleep on my bed next to my feet and everytime i try to move my leg he’ll chase after my leg to go back to sleep on it.
I’ve had several rounds of mosquito bites this summer. Hard to sleep when you’re itching all over!
Loud cars
Heartburn from that 1AM triple pepperoni and bacon pizza
My daughter’s experiences with bullying at school keeps me up at night.
my aches and pains keep me up at night
thinking about school starting in a few weeks keeps me awake!! oh,and 5 cats doesnt help ;)
Stress and too much on my mind
Stress and my brain for sure, usually about 330 lol
Stress keeps me up at night. Especially during exam time!
My cat usually keeps me up at night. He can be very noisy.
Stress keeps me up sometimes.
The past few nights – breaking Bad, I’m binge watching all the seasons. Well that and my husband snores.
stress, my thoughts, uncertainty
getting caught up in a good book.
Debts
Worrying about family members
Catching up on PVR’d TV latenight instead of going to bed!
I am entering your giveaway.
It would be awesome to win a $150 Walmart gift card.
In response to your question of What keeps you up at night?
There are different things that keep me up at night sometimes it’s noisy neighbors,
a thunderstorm,a good movie on television
or just wanting to get my blog tweets done for the day.
Thank you for having this giveaway!!!!!!!!!
Our son keeps us up at night because he would sleep walk into our room and join us in bed.
Sometimes the kids , or stress , or the internet , lol
I am on call a lot so that does. Also, our pug snores like crazy!
9 month old!
The kids and pain from fibromyalgia.
My husbands snoring and my baby :)
My mind wandering keeps me up at night. I replay my entire day, imagine scenarios that may happen tomorrow, make to-do lists in my head and pretty much anything else that you can imagine!
Stress, my dogs, stress, the kids
Stress about the next day.
Things that worry me, cough, pain etc
My allergies often keep me up at night when I am really congested and if it is to hot that keeps me up too
My Neighbors 3 dogs
Mostly just thinking to much!
Thinking too much keeps me up!
Right now it’s worries about my job that keeps me up at night.
I seem to keep going over a mental list of everything that I have to do.
Worry sometimes keeps me up at night! Worry about my kids, money or about the state of the world. We can’t fix it all! But we can do what we can. I find writing a list for the next day to get things out of my mind works.
Well… let me tell you. This year has been the worst for bites!!!Thanks for sharing… I didn’t know about Benadryl spray… I would love to try this product.
I have been so sleep deprived this summer because of the bites…. this is what keeps me up at night!!!
itch itch itch!!!!
hot flashes
My two year old takes bad reactions every time she gets an insect bite. Didn’t know this product existed, but will definitely be trying it now!
establish a routine, hot cup of tea, quiet, cool dark room
Sometimes I just can’t sleep just because my mind won’t shut down.
At about 5am every morning my cat decides its time for a cuddle session…and altho I love cuddle sessions just not at 5am.
Headaches.
My active brain keeps me awake or worry ….
Some nights I just can’t shut down my brain so I can sleep
Leg cramps keep me awake.
not much. I fall asleep pretty much as I hit the pillow
Honestly, my own mind….
I can’t shut my brain off for the night.
Mosquitoes! There’s notjinyg worse
whenever one of my kids is sick … or if i’m anxious about nonsense :S
not being able to shut off my brain
My son’s asthma keeps me up at night.
Thinking about things
I’m a light sleeper so just about everything keeps me up. Outside noises, the neighbors partying all night, the tenant who lives below me yelling and swearing at his pets….just to name a few lol. I’m not sure the neighborhood is ever quiet and peaceful night or day so sleep can be hard to come by.
thinking about the future
thinking about my to-do list!
pain keeps me up
Back pain ……ughhhh !
Worries about my dad’s health & family’s well being.
The sound of mosquitos buzzing – arrrrgh!
summer heat. with no air conditioner it can get unbearable.
if my kids get too much activity just before bed they are hard to settle down.
I always have a problem falling asleep,,not sure why,,and of course,,my hubbys outrageous SNORING keeps me up as well.
Stress has been keeping up at night for months now. It drives me nuts when I am dead tired and try to go to sleep only to have my brain to kick into high gear and me end up laying there for hours on end with everything goring through my mind.
The people next door with the loud music
The inability to shut my mind down and to stop it from continually going over all the things I need to accomplish :)
Back pain keeps me up most of the time!
Ringing in my ears keeps me up. I have a white noise machine to deal with this issue.
anything that bothers me or if I have to go somewhere I toss and turn. so I guess stress.
oh forgot to say my bladder lol
My racing mind keeps me up at night.
a puppy who doesn`t believe in bedtime keeps me up
a clicking brain due to work
Just the inability to fall asleep and getting up 100 times.
Kids, pets, worries
Stress and worries
stress
Sinus headaches keep me up and lately worry about returning to work.
stress will keep me awake at night
stress and worrying :(
Stress and mind racing over problems
I too have trouble unwinding and have health issues that make sleep a luxury…
A good thing that keeps me up at night is a really good book, a bad thing my stuffy sinuses
My 4 yr old & 1 yr old
my never ending to-do list
The neighbours pool pump.
stress and worries
Wondering how a ten-pound dog can possibly take up so much space in a queen-sized bed!
Stress from work and family member health , stuffy nose. I love my work but my group leader is getting to me lately, seem my tolerance level is getting low.
Nothing does, I sleep well.
aches and pains keep me up at night
My two kids keep me up at night!
My mind/thoughts keep me up.
Thanks.
Allergies and not being able to stop thinking about all the things I need to do or take care of now tomorrow soon or yesterday
Thinking too much
my back pain
Aching muscles keep me up.
Twitter
I worry about everything! Need an off switch for my brain! Mostly money
Stress keeps me up at night. I’ve had so much on my plate lately, I’m really beginning to wonder when this madness will end!
Anxietied thoughts about something important coming up, turning different scenarios around in my brain until I have full-out insomnia.
I have so many things that keep me up at night, allergies in the summer, migraines most of all restless leg syndrome, even stress. When I get hives that is the worst.
Nothing much, only when I am sick the cough keeps me up.
Worrying about money.
I worry about everything…
Pain – lots of it
Electronics
stress – thinking about my To Do List, or family & friends with problems
AN uncomfortable bed keeps me up at night
stress
caffiene
My financies
If I can’t sleep at night, it is usually about what has happened earlier that day.
My thoughts usually are what keep me up at night.
Worries.
I was bitten by mosquitos over 12 times at the Oak Bay Marina a few weeks ago. I have used Benadryl for allergies and allergic reactions for years. I did see the spray recently and plan to pick it up…Benadryl tablets were the only thing that helped me through 4 days of wanting to desperately scratch!
I suffer from Sleep Apnea unfortunately
Outside parties in the summer keep me awake.
Sensitivity to my precious cat..
Caffeine can give me bad insomnia at night
Overactive brain cells keeps me up – young son/family commitments/job search….*LIFE*
Eva Mitton-Urban
Way too much caffeine
bills and family organization
My worries.
mostly worry and stress
my thoughts
stress
caffiene. usually i drink a coffee too late in the day and am up later at night.
If I have to get up at night to use the bathroom, it’s hard to get back to sleep.
ARTHRITIS
Quiet time to myself keeps me up. The temptation to stay up to the wee hours is very strong.
The puppy and my iPad. Sometimes laundry and dishes etc. Also my teens c
Chronic illness.
the cars buzzing past the house when the windows are open
What keeps me up at night – thoughts of next days chores
If I’m not tired enough…too well-rested and gotten too much sleep on previous night.
Netflix!! :D
my husband`s snoring. He is very loud and gets upset if I wake him.
I have a hard time shutting off my brain
My granddaughter!
It’s hard to shut my brain off at night sometimes …I often get up again and have a cup of tea and then I’m good to go..
Financial stress and my daughter not liking school.
An active 4 year old and a premature baby
I am usually so busy during the day that I try to catch up on contests and tv shows at night
The sounds of trains and planes!
Worrying keeps me up at night
Chronic pain keeps me awake since being in a car accident 14 yrs ago.
Usually stress, anxiety or too much caffeine keeps me up at night :S
Personal and random thoughts that I didn’t have time during the day to think about. For example, back in college during exam “season”, I would only think and stress about school/exam related issues during the whole day. This left me the night time – when I’m about to sleep- to think about stuff like, what I need to buy my mom for her birthday day next week. Sigh.
aches and pains or noisy neighbours
Candy crush and my smartphone lol
Leg cramps and anxiety.
What’s coming up in my life and what I need to do to take care of things.
My son and myself-he gets his sleep problems from me
My child keeps me up at night… sometimes I wonder how they can function on little sleep
my husband snoring
Sometimes my mind just won’t stop!
My sore back !!
The heat, on hot days since we dont have AC at our house…otherwise, not much
My thoughts keep me up at night from ruminations about the days events to the thoughts of what I should or need to do the next day.
The critters roaming around in the attic keep me awake at night!
Studying (cause I’m older than my fellow classmates and it takes longer to absorb) and tea now keeps me up.
Studying and tea
Contests like yours keep me up at night. LOL… i love entering contests.
Thinking about all of the things that I have to do the next day.
My brain never seems to shut down. I am always thinking.
My cat and dog keeps me up.
Heartburn from pregnancy
Not being able to stop thinking about things that need to be done
Mostly stress!
Stress/Worry 2 Teenage boys. Sigh.
Sometimes too much coffee but more often it is just one of the things that go with being post-menopausal
my baby! and the list of things I have not managed to do!
worries, thoughts, stuffy nose in the winter
Worrying about what kind of work a crippled person can do to support his family, that’s what does it for me.
At night in the summer it is the dry air that keeps me up at night.
Stressing/worrying!
Weird noises and general worries
stress. thanks
worries
stressful things and sometimes my pets keep me up making a lot of noise while playing
Insomnia! I try to dim the lights & not use electronics at least an hour before bed.
Too many thoughts racing through my mind.
If it’s too hot or not dark enough, I tend to wake up during the night.
Headaches keep me up at night.
my children!
work
Sometimes it’s my kids, sometimes it’s twitter!
loud people outside. thanks
My 4 kids…or snoring husband.
My baby, even though he’s 16mon
Stress
My four month old. She doesn’t sleep well yet.
This would be fantastic for my bites.
Usually my cats or my son.
missing a special someone!!!
My thoughts
my kids keep me up (and repeatedly wake me up) at night. my youngest wakes up a few times wanting a drink/snack, my oldest wakes up in his bed and climbs into ours then kicks me until he wakes up in the morning
The teacher’s strike here in BC
Overthinking about what happened during the day
Finances.
stress and worrying about my aging parents
My wandering mind, it just doesn’t want to let me sleep.
The tossing and turning of my hubby. Also, worrying about the future.
Allergies and not being able to stop thinking about the upcoming day.
husbands snoring keeps me up
Over thinking and my kids keep me up.
My thoughts generally
My Bed Bugs. :-))
to be honest nothing is keeping me up at night i sleep soundly
My brain
Worrying about things mostly. I’m starting school next week, and I have one kid at home, and one in school and I’m worried I’m taking on too much. And of course paying for it all!
My toddler waking up, my dog asking to be let out or my husband snoring mostly. Once in awhile I had a night or worry but not too often thank goodness.
Nothing keeps me up at night, I could sleep for Canada.
my ADD lol … sometimes I get too hyper!
Stress
Puppy!
Stress keeps me up at night
My Daughter’s sniffling and sneezing from seasonal allergies
stress – if i had a bad day or if i have alot going on in my mind, i need to go for a walk right before bed in order to sleep well.
Everything keeps me awake. I need to turn my brain off and can’t! My son! My husband! And I live near a train track. The 2a.m. Train wakes me every night!
Thinking about what I have to do the next day keeps me up!
Worries and too many things to do.
too many things on my mind
My Husband and I are expecting our first baby boy in November and this being my first pregnancy, I’m finding it more difficult to sleep than ever. I don’t really feel like I sleep anymore, just more of a nap here and there. I know it will be worth it but oh how I used to love my sleep! Thanks for the wonderful Walmart giveaway from Listen to Lena and Benadryl :)
thunderstorms!
a too late in the day coffee will for sure!
My allergies!
When my baby can’t sleep, crying
Everything and anything. I’m such a light sleeper.
I’m being honest, the kids, I’ve entered the night terror stage with my 2 yr old and she has moved into our room, lol
Sleep..what’s that? I have insomnia in spurts. I’m currently in a ‘spurt’….sadly it’s been 5 days so far and I’ve had a combined 8 hours in the 5 days.
Usually it’s stress and my mind racing that keep me up, but lately my arm has been falling asleep so badly that is causes extreme pain and keeps me up all night :-(
I get my best ideas just as I am trying to fall asleep. I have to get up and write them down or it will drive me nuts.
Nothing really keeps me up at night
Well, right now, some type of strep throat/sneezing/coughing thing. Which is as fun as it sounds.
stress
I’m pregnant so pretty much everything. Back pain, hip pain, heartburn, night sweats, cravings, you name it!
A parent never rests when a child is sick. One ear open.
I have that things your mom may have told you about called “mother hearing”. I never feel refreshed after sleep and I also seem to have a lot of aches and pains. Maybe that’s why hubs calls me a pain in the neck! :)
My big baby belly
My brain keeps me up at night!
My loud neighbours if I have the windows open.
What keeps me up at night is worrying about my children.
My kids…
My mattress :( Desperate for a new one.
stress, i am always worried I forgot something or I don’t have something ready for the next day
Everything! From our 4 cats, to my 3 year old daughter, to my sweaty snoring hubby lol.
I have fibromyalga. The pain keeps me up at night.
I have a few cats even though I’m mildly allergic and they like to sleep on the bed. So if they aren’t keeping me up by chasing each other over my sleeping body, they’re keeping me up by making my nose stuffy.
I have restless legs syndrome and I dont sleep for more than 3-4 hrs. Thats what keeps me up at night, I just lay there and think.
We live along a busy residential street so between vehicles and foot traffic there’s always noise of one kind of another that’s concerning.
All the things that needs to be done
TV!*l*
When I’m sick or worried about something
Entering contests & TV