Owen LOVES to be outside. He gets this from his daddy. At 7:30am he was already pointing outside and trying to climb the gate. Yesterday we spent almost 2 hours outside playing in the dirt. Something else he loves. And he doesn't love being cleaned up!
I however was not so ready to got out at 7:30am. And truly, neither was he. He has not been sleeping well again. Saturday night he was up at 2am and wanted to watch Elmo. So we did. And then he went back to sleep. Sunday night he was up at 12:30. We rocked and I put him back down. Then he was up again at 2:30. This time it was not so easy. It was big fit time. Wandering around screaming and choking and throwing himself down on the floor. Wanting to be held. Not wanting to be held. Wanting me, not wanting me. Wanting daddy, not wanting daddy. Monday night we gave him a dose of tylenol and he slept fine. Last night he was up at 2:30 again. I held him in the chair in his room until 4. I tried to put him down twice but he just started crying again. Finally at 4 I just put him back in and let him cry. And I do try to let him work it out himself before I ever go in. But after 45 minutes of it getting worse, not better I go in. I don't know what else to do. So tonight he's getting tylenol again. Maybe it's teeth.
He's also working on his independence. When he doesn't get his way he throws a fit. Which now includes hitting his head on the floor. I don't get all hysterical about this though. He's doing it to himself and if it hurts enough he will stop. He's just frustrated. I'm sure it's irritating to try and communicate with someone who doesn't understand what your trying to "say". Our baby class teacher said frequently this sort of behavior peeks just before a child has a language growth spurt. I'm hoping she's right. I could really use some words. Instead of the fits and the grunts. It's frustrating to not know what he wants too!
So I'm hoping for some sleep and some new words. Then maybe a clean house. But I think that's just not in the cards for me!
I however was not so ready to got out at 7:30am. And truly, neither was he. He has not been sleeping well again. Saturday night he was up at 2am and wanted to watch Elmo. So we did. And then he went back to sleep. Sunday night he was up at 12:30. We rocked and I put him back down. Then he was up again at 2:30. This time it was not so easy. It was big fit time. Wandering around screaming and choking and throwing himself down on the floor. Wanting to be held. Not wanting to be held. Wanting me, not wanting me. Wanting daddy, not wanting daddy. Monday night we gave him a dose of tylenol and he slept fine. Last night he was up at 2:30 again. I held him in the chair in his room until 4. I tried to put him down twice but he just started crying again. Finally at 4 I just put him back in and let him cry. And I do try to let him work it out himself before I ever go in. But after 45 minutes of it getting worse, not better I go in. I don't know what else to do. So tonight he's getting tylenol again. Maybe it's teeth.
He's also working on his independence. When he doesn't get his way he throws a fit. Which now includes hitting his head on the floor. I don't get all hysterical about this though. He's doing it to himself and if it hurts enough he will stop. He's just frustrated. I'm sure it's irritating to try and communicate with someone who doesn't understand what your trying to "say". Our baby class teacher said frequently this sort of behavior peeks just before a child has a language growth spurt. I'm hoping she's right. I could really use some words. Instead of the fits and the grunts. It's frustrating to not know what he wants too!
So I'm hoping for some sleep and some new words. Then maybe a clean house. But I think that's just not in the cards for me!
7 comments:
wow, so sorry that cute lil guy is being a lil stink! this too shall pass, right? well i don't have those kinda of nites, mine are between 4ishpm and bedtime. we call this the "witching" hour! hey i still give my kids "tylenol" when they r cranky..and b4 bed too! good luck.... be strong. how many teeth does he have?
lynda in calif
((HUGS!!)) I'm sorry things are tough right now though I'll have to agree with your baby class teacher. Kevin was and still is the same way as he's still growing his vocabulary. We'll go through weeks of near constant tantrums and fits and then all of a sudden the tantrums are down to once or twice a week...sometimes less. Though we'll notice as the tantrums decrease that he's managed to learn new words, sentences, etc...in other words...more constructive ways to express himself and relay his wants and desires. Then the cycle goes around again although the time between groups of tantrums has been getting longer so hopefully we'll get to the point where we won't have to ever deal with them again. :D
After I wrote my last comment I was watching TaleSpin with the boys and was thinking back to the days when the boys (especially Kevin) were babies/toddlers and trying to remember how we got through the sleepless nights and difficult days.
Have you tried giving ibuprofen right before bed when he's sick, feverish, teething, etc? Our ped recommended it when the boys were just a few months old and going through ear infections, gas, colds, flu, etc and on our boys it lasted much longer then tylenol and so they slept longer at night. It was also suggested to rotate between ibuprofen and tylenol during the day if they were still in pain so they didn't get used to one particular pain reliever. Now I'm not saying do this for little pains but I mean the ones where they are in so much pain and unconsolable. It didn't happen real often for us (maybe a couple times a year between all three boys) but it did happen!
Also we didn't allow any television or other overstimulating "fun" for about an hour before bed (especially with Kevin) but instead gave a half hour or so long play in a warm bath followed by a massage and occasionally a little book reading and rocking if they were still awake and not drowsy.
One other thing we did was play a classical CD on repeat so it played all night. We still had our sleepless nights but they much fewer and far between. And hearing the classical music over the monitor helped me sleep calmly as well...LOL! ;)
Again...good luck and ((HUGS!!)) Hope things get better!! If I think of anything else I'll be back to let ya know...LOL!
The photos are adorable! I hope this is a phase for Owen. It could be teething so tylenol does help.
So cute!!!! Love the dirt saying.
All these phases pass - but that doesn't make it any easier for mom when you're in the middle of it, right? Iain and I always used to think of the hurdles as the kids' way of keeping us on our toes :) It's especially hard when the little ones don't have the words yet to articulate what they're feeling. ((((hugs)))) to you!!
Those pictures of Owen are so cute. Sorry to hear that he is not sleeping very well.
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