It's been a week of wakeful nights and each night has been worse than the last. Monday night we found him eating cookies at 2am, after he promised he would stay in bed if we would just leave his door open a crack.
We have been called every dirty name he knows when he is pounding on the door wanting us to give him otter pops or turn on his light. His favorites are "stupid daddy" and "naughty mommy" but he has also added "daddy has a stinky bum" and "mean mommy" to the list. Every item in his room is fair game for being thrown at the door and pounded into the floor.
We honestly don't know if he is scared or just using that as an excuse because he knows we'll feel bad. His other excuses are so random that I feel like it's all just a master class in toddler battle of wills. We would LOVE to make him sit in his room and CRY IT OUT (or actually scream it out) but his brother and sister are next door and have started crying too. They can't stand the sound of him anymore than we can. I called the doctor's office today after getting roughly 4 hours of sleep last night (not consecutive!) and we are bringing him in for a check up just incase he does have an ear infection or something. What will we do until Friday though??? I think we have done everything short of drugging him-bribary, rewards, consequences, tough love and a 2 hour back rub that got me nowhere. If you have any great ideas for us, I'll listen!
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Oh Leah, I am so sorry. I don't have any good tips for you but I will say that I can sympathize. We've taken almost everything out of our son's room save but his bed, one pillow and a blanket after a week of throwing shoes and temper tantrums in the middle of the store. I'm waiting for "Raising a Spirited Child" from the library hoping it will give me some insight.
ReplyDeleteWe took him to the pedi and she said he is healthy and that it's totally psychological! She recommended warm milk before bed, one consequence for screaming (we take him to the bedroom downstairs) and talk about how important sleep is to us every night. We give him more quality time after the twins go to bed and set up a reward chart just for sleeping well. We bought him a toy he wants and it is in his closet. When he earns 10 stars we will let him have it. We'll see!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I am so sorry. We arent having quite as hard of a time, but I do know how horrible it can be to hear your sweet little boy have a major breakdown like that. I hope he is doing better for you now?
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