We went to visit my grandparents this weekend. Ethan calls anyone who looks like a grandparent PaPa and Mamu and right away called them that. It’s been almost a year since they last saw him. He had a blast following my grandfather around and playing with them. Unfortunately he did not like sleeping in the pack and play. I had cut up an eggcrate to put under the very hard mattress to make it more comfortable for him but it didn’t seem to matter. In fact he was so angry about having to sleep in it that he figured out how to climb out of it. We were quite suprised when he walked out into the living room. I stayed right outside the door and peeked in and every time he tried to climb out I immediately went in to put him back in. After about 20 times he figured it out and stayed in but screamed himself to sleep. During the night he had a 20min. long night terror. When he had to same problem with nap time the following day we decided to not stay another night. We left for home at the time he normally goes to bed and figured he would fall asleep on the way home but no he stayed awake for the entire 3 hours. Amazing! He fell asleep right away when we put him in his own bed.
Ethan loves music and loves to dance. I don’t know if he inherited it from my uncle (he’s a celloist) or if it’s because he started music class at 3 months old. He is always dancing whenever he hears music. I recently got him a Steve Green cd of praise songs for kids, he loves it. I hear him singing it even when it’s not on. It’s cute to hear him try to sing Halleluia. It sounds like “LaLuLa.” Update on night terrors. He’s still having them each night but they haven’t been a half hour long. One of the discussion groups I joined on my alumni’s web site is about parenting (it’s called “Raising Kingdom Kids”) and one of the girls in the group said her pediatrician told her to give her son Benadryl each night for a week. I started that last night, I figured it couldn’t hurt.
Last night we’re pretty sure Ethan had a night terror though we’re not positive. It lasted a half hour. George went in to rub his back and said he stopped crying when he rubbed his back but didn’t acknowledge his being there. So because he didn’t acknowledge him I would say it was a night terror but because he stopped crying, I don’t know. I happens every night at the same time which makes me think it’s related to his sleep cycle. Oh well regardless there’s no treatment for it. I don’t know why I worry about it so much. On a lighter note, Ethan so much loves to help around the house (with unloading the dishwasher, laundry, vacuuming, unloading groceries from the car, etc). Today he got to help me with some refinishing I’m doing on some furniture. He loved to use the scraper. I wish he would want to be helpful forever but I know this too will pass.
Since Ethan turned about 18months he has been having difficulty falling asleep at night. It takes him at least an hour to fall asleep no matter how early or late he goes down. I initially thought it was because of the time change and that he was having trouble sleeping because it was still light out. Then he started to do the same at his nap time. For a while I thought it was because he was overtired and couldn’t settle down to sleep. He always nearly falls asleep in the car at about 11am so I started trying to put him down for his nap earlier but that didn’t work he still jumped up and down for an hour or more before falling asleep. This past weekend he went several days without a nap at all and was so difficult to be around by about fivepm. I knew he still needed a nap so this week I’ve been trying to put him down later and later until I found a time that works. The past few days he’s gone down at 1:30 and it’s only taken him 15min. to fall asleep. I feel bad that it took me this long to figure it out. Our other problem is during the past month or so he’s been waking up crying several times throughout the night, every night. It doesn’t sound like his night terrors (unless he has changed his cry because his night terror cry was horrifying) so I don’t know if he is having nightmares or what. I guess I have some research to do.
George’s mom asked to take Ethan for Saturday and Sunday. George met her half way on Saturday and we met again to pick him up this evening. He had a great time but didn’t take any naps. He was acquainted with the slip and slide (poor grandma had to demonstrate it for him). Thankfully he didn’t take off his diaper and throw it out of the crib for her. It was nice to go out to a movie and dinner in West Palm last night and have the freedom to go out to lunch with friends after church but I missed him terribly.
It takes Ethan forever to fall asleep at night and while he jumps up and down for a while he usually ends up losing his teddy bear over the side. He then gives out a dramatic cry. George went in last night and told him to not throw his bear out again and that he would not be coming back in to give to him. I came home from the grocery store in time to hear Ethan give out his dramatic cry about losing his bear, for the second time. I let him fuss for a while as I put the groceries away and then I noticed that he seemed quiet. I looked briefly at the video monitor and saw that he was still awake standing in his crib. I went in to talk to him about the bear issue. It was dark in the room and I bent down to pick up his bear and I noticed his shorts on the floor. I wondered if maybe George forgot to put on the shorts that are part of his pj set. I went to pick up the rest of his toys and books and picked up a diaper. I turned on the light and there was Ethan standing in his crib with no diaper on smiling at me. I suppose he thought he would get back at us for not coming to rescue his bear sooner. It was difficult to not laugh and keep a straight face while I sternly reminded him that he did not yet know how to control his bowels so he had to wear a diaper to bed.
Well I have graduated from PT-though I failed. She said there was nothing more she could do for me. The pain is still there and has not diminished at all. I went back to the doctor and he sent me for an x-ray (finally) and then suggested I go to a chiropractor or acupunture. I went to a chiropractor today and it turns out that my problem is not from lifting Ethan at all. For one, I have an additional vertebrae in my back. I also have a problem with my lower back that is triggering my other pains. I did injure my lower back in college so I suppose that’s what it is from. So anyway now I get to have my back manipulated several times a week.
