Share this:
Day 0 – Monday
TJ was spending the day at Grandma Kitty’s house on Monday. When it came to be nap time, he just wouldn’t settle down. He screamed and screamed, covering his ears and glaring suspciously at the heat duct in the ceiling. She’d had this problem last week, and had brought him home because he’d been begging for Mommy. He’d gone to sleep for me here at home, but we didn’t want it to become a habit.
So I went over to her place to see if I could help get him to sleep there. It didn’t work. We screamed whenever I tried to get him to stay in the crib, and he wouldn’t lie down on the bed, either. I ended up taking him home after I’d tried and failed to get him to sleep for an hour.
He ended up falling asleep at home, but the late nap made him fight bedtime that much harder. Not only did he scream, but he screamed so much that he made himself throw up. We had to take him out of the crib and strip his bedding before trying again. He ended up coming back downstairs with us, and then coming upstairs when we wanted to get ready for bed. He wanted no part of going to bed.
It wasn’t until midnight, when we were both ready to scream with him, that we got him to settle down. Sheer exhaustion helped him to snuggle against my shoulder as I sang to him in the rocking chair. He didn’t fuss when I put him in his crib.
Day 1 – Tuesday
Nap time came on Tuesday. Grandma Kitty had gone to lunch with us, and she usually visits until he goes up for his nap. It was a good thing she was still hanging around, because when he started screaming, he made himself throw up within two minutes of me leaving his room. The poor kid heaved five times before everything he’d eaten so far that day was up. I threw him in the bathtub, and Grandma Kitty sat with him while I called the pediatrician and cleaned up the disgusting mess.
When I finally got a call back from one of the nurses, she said that he was most likely just getting older and trying to tell us he doesn’t want to nap anymore. The hands on his ears were probably because he wanted to scream so we would hear him, but he didn’t want to hear us. The throwing up, well, that was a surefire way to get out of the crib.
I didn’t try putting him back down for a nap.
We kept him up until 7:30, as the nurse had suggested, and started a more solid bedtime routine. He got a bath, put his jammies on, took his vitamin, and brushed his teeth. Then we sat in the rocking chair to read a story book and rocked for a little while. After some hugs and kisses, it was time to try the crib.
Despite the fact that he could barely hold his head up straight, he screamed and tried to hold onto us and use us to climb out of his crib. “I’m done,” Tom said, and went to take a shower, leaving me to figure things out with TJ. The coughing had already started, and I didn’t want him to throw up just after I’d replaced his bedding yet again, so I rocked with him to sing one song.
“One more time,” TJ begged as I tried to put him in the crib.
“If I sing one more time, you have to go to sleep in your crib after that,” I said.
“Okay!” TJ replied, eagerly climbing me to get back up.
We rocked and sang one more song. I knew I couldn’t really trust a two-year-old to keep his word about something like that, but I had to try. And when he screamed, I kissed him and told him that I love him, and I left and closed the door behind me.
Downstairs, Tom apologized for leaving me alone up there, but said he was too frustrated. I waited until 8:35, about 15 minutes, to go back up and check on TJ, who was still screaming at the top of his lungs. I brought a bowl of Annie’s whole wheat bunny crackers with me, figuring that maybe he was hungry. My real goal was to see whether or not he’d thrown up. He hadn’t. Phew!
He started screaming again when I left, but he fell quiet 10 minutes later. Tom and I looked at each other, wondering, but we made ourselves wait until 9:30 to check on him. We didn’t want to wake him up with a squeaking floorboard when he was still just barely asleep.
The crackers hadn’t been touched. He just sort of crashed in the corner of his crib. He looked so… peaceful. It was wonderful. He slept until 9:00 the next morning.
Day 2 – Wednesday
We didn’t even attempt a nap. We had a plan. TJ and I were out of the house most of the day, anyways. We didn’t get home until 7:45, though, which made us a little late starting on the new 7:30 bedtime routine. But we did the whole routine and left him screaming again.
This time, he screamed for 15 minutes before Tom went up. He rubbed his tummy and gave him his drink. When he left the room, silence. We waited until 9:00 to go up and check on him. He was on his back in the corner of the crib with his hands behind his head. He certainly looked comfortable. What a relief.
Day 3 – Thursday
And here we are, tonight. We started our bedtime routine at 7:30. I rocked with him for a few minutes after Tom gave him good night kisses. TJ protested when I put him in the crib, but I remembered what Tom had done the night before. I rubbed his tummy.
TJ’s eyes were mostly closed, but fluttering open to make sure I was still there. It was very funny to watch. After a minute, I stopped rubbing his tummy and tried to just stand by the crib to see if he’d let me leave. Eyes still fluttering, he reached out for me with his hand, trying to put my hand back on his tummy.
I put my hand back, but didn’t start rubbing. TJ started waving his hand in the air and said, “Like this.” I smiled and started rubbing his tummy again.
After another minute or two, TJ’s arm was over his eyes, so I don’t think they were fluttering open to watch me anymore. I stopped rubbing his tummy and took a few steps back. The floor creaked right before I got out the door. He was startled and looked up as if he were going to reach for me again, but then he laid right back down.
He went to sleep – without any screaming or return visits from Mommy or Daddy to calm him and make sure he hadn’t thrown up. It was wonderful.
I checked on him a little while ago. He’s rolled over onto his tummy, but he’s still tucked in under his blanket.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
