Holden used to have some real issues with sleep. As I stated in a previous post, Melatonin has really helped him get to sleep. Even when he did have trouble sleeping, it was only in getting to sleep, once asleep he typically slept through the night. For the most part, Holden has never really had much of an issue wetting his bed. He occasionally wet his bed, and really I didn’t consider it a huge deal, because it was so infrequent. Recently things have changed, and Holden now wakes up when he has to go to the bathroom. One would think this was a great milestone to reach in a child’s development. Certainly in terms of Zane it was indeed, especially since Zane seems to have inherited his fathers small bladder. However, as always is the case of Holden, it brought up a new issue to have to deal with. On the occasions that Holden did wet his bed, he would sometimes sleep right through it, and other times he would wake up and be upset, I would get him cleaned up and changed, change the bedding, and he would go right back to sleep. So when he woke up for the first time and said “bathroom” I was happy and said, okay go. He got up, went to the bathroom, and seemed himself to be happy about the situation. Then, instead of heading back to the bed room, he goes bounding into the play area. At which point my first thought was “Uh oh!” So I expressed to Holden that it was 12:30 at night and he needed to go back to sleep. He accepted going back to bed no problem, but ended up staying up for 3 more hours. Luckily he didn’t have school the next day, unluckily for me I had work. About a week later, it happened again. He woke up, expressed his need to use the bathroom, I encouraged him to do so, and he did. This time he came straight back to bed, but again, did not go back to sleep. Both times he did this, I was trying to explain to him that he needed to go back to sleep. As is usually the case with Holden, he thinks it’s quite amusing when you try to explain something serious to him. So once again it was several hours before he went back to sleep. Luckily this time it was Saturday night into Sunday morning, and neither of us had to be up early the next day. Then a few weeks later, the now dreaded words woke me from my slumber “bathroom”. So I tell him to go to the bathroom, and try to get him back in bed as quickly as possible, because this time I have to work, AND he has to go to school in the morning. Once again he seems wide awake, and like the old days, unwilling to settle down and sleep. So for the next few hours I continue to tell him he needs to go back to sleep, or he will be very tired at school. He finally goes to sleep around 4am.
I wake him up a little later then normal for school, but the bus comes at 6:30am so I don’t have a lot of choice. He is very upset when I wake him. He doesn’t want to leave his bed, doesn’t want to get in the shower, doesn’t want to get out of the shower, doesn’t want to get dressed, doesn’t want to get on the bus. This was the worst part for me, because he grabbed me in a bear hug, and did not want to let go. The bus driver and I strap him in, he is crying by this point, and she assures me, he will be asleep in a few minutes time. I, on the other hand, am not so sure. The whole time I was getting him ready for school, I was telling him that he feels the way he feels, because he didn’t get enough sleep, and that it is important to go back to sleep when I tell him too. I’m not lecturing the poor kid, just trying to let him know why he feels this way, and how to prevent it. The next day I asked the bus driver how he did, she confesses that he cried for the longest he has ever cried on the bus, about 10 minutes, and that upon arriving to school, he didn’t want to get off of the bus. I had warned his teacher when I got to work, that he was on very little sleep. In the daily communication log book that comes home with him everyday the teacher’s comment was ironically that he had had a great day at school.
So a little while later I am awoken by what is becoming my most dreaded words to hear, “Bathroom”. There is really nothing I can do, I can’t say “no, go back to bed. It was better when you wet the bed.” Because it’s just not true. I think a lot of accomplishments are going to come with these little set backs with Holden, but they are still accomplishments. So I tell him to go to the bathroom. He does his thing, and I usher him back into bed, and say “Go back to sleep Holden”. This time he doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t start goofing around, he lies down and gets comfortable. He is clearly making an effort to go back to bed. He tries for about ten minutes, then starts to talk a little to himself. I tell him to go back to sleep, and he quickly settles down. He rolls back and forth a few times over the next 15 minutes, finally settles in and is asleep about 30 minutes after having woken up. By far the best he had done so far. I am so ecstatic that I forget I am trying to go back to sleep myself, and end up loosing sleep thinking about what was different this time. Was it because of his bad day? Was it something I did? Something I said? I feel like the superstitious baseball player, I need to touch my cap, adjust my cup, take three practice swings, then touch my cap again, before I step up to the plate. The thing is, when something works with Holden, it can often work for a while, but what was it?
Well last night those now spine chilling words were spoken again, “bathroom.” I got him back in bed as soon as he was done. I told him to go back to bed, and he immediately settled in, and was asleep in about five minutes. I don’t know if this was a an exception to the rule, or not. I honestly think he learned from the day he lost sleep, but I may never know. I know the next time I am awoken again, I will not assume he will go back to bed, you just never know with Holden. I may touch my cap, adjust my cup, take three practice swings and touch my cap again though, hell I’ll even try doing the Hokey Pokey if it gets him back to sleep.
I wake him up a little later then normal for school, but the bus comes at 6:30am so I don’t have a lot of choice. He is very upset when I wake him. He doesn’t want to leave his bed, doesn’t want to get in the shower, doesn’t want to get out of the shower, doesn’t want to get dressed, doesn’t want to get on the bus. This was the worst part for me, because he grabbed me in a bear hug, and did not want to let go. The bus driver and I strap him in, he is crying by this point, and she assures me, he will be asleep in a few minutes time. I, on the other hand, am not so sure. The whole time I was getting him ready for school, I was telling him that he feels the way he feels, because he didn’t get enough sleep, and that it is important to go back to sleep when I tell him too. I’m not lecturing the poor kid, just trying to let him know why he feels this way, and how to prevent it. The next day I asked the bus driver how he did, she confesses that he cried for the longest he has ever cried on the bus, about 10 minutes, and that upon arriving to school, he didn’t want to get off of the bus. I had warned his teacher when I got to work, that he was on very little sleep. In the daily communication log book that comes home with him everyday the teacher’s comment was ironically that he had had a great day at school.
So a little while later I am awoken by what is becoming my most dreaded words to hear, “Bathroom”. There is really nothing I can do, I can’t say “no, go back to bed. It was better when you wet the bed.” Because it’s just not true. I think a lot of accomplishments are going to come with these little set backs with Holden, but they are still accomplishments. So I tell him to go to the bathroom. He does his thing, and I usher him back into bed, and say “Go back to sleep Holden”. This time he doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t start goofing around, he lies down and gets comfortable. He is clearly making an effort to go back to bed. He tries for about ten minutes, then starts to talk a little to himself. I tell him to go back to sleep, and he quickly settles down. He rolls back and forth a few times over the next 15 minutes, finally settles in and is asleep about 30 minutes after having woken up. By far the best he had done so far. I am so ecstatic that I forget I am trying to go back to sleep myself, and end up loosing sleep thinking about what was different this time. Was it because of his bad day? Was it something I did? Something I said? I feel like the superstitious baseball player, I need to touch my cap, adjust my cup, take three practice swings, then touch my cap again, before I step up to the plate. The thing is, when something works with Holden, it can often work for a while, but what was it?
Well last night those now spine chilling words were spoken again, “bathroom.” I got him back in bed as soon as he was done. I told him to go back to bed, and he immediately settled in, and was asleep in about five minutes. I don’t know if this was a an exception to the rule, or not. I honestly think he learned from the day he lost sleep, but I may never know. I know the next time I am awoken again, I will not assume he will go back to bed, you just never know with Holden. I may touch my cap, adjust my cup, take three practice swings and touch my cap again though, hell I’ll even try doing the Hokey Pokey if it gets him back to sleep.
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