Day 4
We got up early this morning 7:30 and woke up J. As usually
he comes for a cuddle in our bed, he loves it, he loves playing hide and seek
with mommy under the duvet. We got dressed for breakfast and he was veering
towards a mood but daddy managed to diffuse it by involving him in counting and
preparing daddy’s supplements. Mission accomplished! We spoke to him that he
needs to sit at the table during breakfast and not run to the swimming pool and
he promised he would and he kept his promise.
We arranged to go to the zoo today with our friends and
whilst waiting for the taxi I showed him the videos I made at home from our dog
and cat. He was super excited, kept kissing my computer screen, waving at the
dog and petting them on the screen. So I’m not worried he will not like the
animals J
The zoo was great, we had a good time. We did the safari first
and he was so happy to see all the animals. We got great pics as we were seated
directly behind the driver and his assistant, they had the best view and had
both sides covered and kept using my camera to take great photographs. The rest
of the bus had to run from one side to the other to get a shot through a small
hole in the grid.
We then walked the rest of the zoo and he got tired after a
few hours. He threw a little tantrum on the way out, when he has a mood he
tries to put something in his mouth, it can be a rock or rubbish from the
floor. But he calmed down quickly we went to a little restaurant opposite with
a slide and swing and he was back to his happy self. At one point he came down
the slide and tumbled forward face down in the gravel. In the past few days
when he fell or hurt himself he would walk away and would not cry. This time he
cried and he actually asked to be held and consoled which I thought was a great
step forward.
We then headed back to the hotel in a taxi, he fell asleep
and then the trouble started. He suddenly woke up and started crying
hysterically, screaming and kicking. We had no idea what caused this but he was
uncontrollable and it doesn’t help to be confined in a taxi during rush hour.
The episode continued even when we got to our room but eventually he calmed
down. I was emotionally drained, I had already been upset about all the poverty
I witnessed during the drive and this was too much. Daddy sent me to the gym
whilst he gave J a bath. When I got back he was in bed but not sleeping yet so
I still got a chance to tell him that mommy loves him very much and he was very
happy to see me. He apologised to my husband for his behaviour, he said I’m
sorry daddy.
I wish we were home already, it would be so much better to
have a regular routine and our environment without interference from others. So
my dear family and friends we have a great son who every once in a while has a
little meltdown, please be patient with him and us and please let us do our job
of parenting J
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Heidi, his meltdown in the taxi might have been something like a night terror, since you say it started abruptly when he appeared to wake up. They have no control over their behavior during one of those episodes. Anandi had them frequently while we were in India and after we were home for many months. Although they might seem to be awake and interacting (usually hysterically) with those around them, it's virtually impossible to wake them and snap them out of it. We had to just wait it out with Anandi.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if it could also be that he was in fact awake and was just incredibly disoriented upon waking. Anandi takes a long time to fully wake up, and she is often very disagreeable during that time.
I'm enjoying following your journey. Blessings to all!
~Maire
Maire, Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I am starting to notice exactly that. If he has a nap he really needs his time waking up and it's best to not engage him whilst he wakes up. Things are going better everyday :)
ReplyDeleteI agree completely: Night Terror. 3/4 of my kids have had them. 2 are bio kids. Very common. Most often when they are tired and off schedule. My approach has always been to just hold them and keep them safe, loving on them until they are back in their right mind again. It is similar to sleep walking (same stage of sleep disturbance.) My oldest son used to sleep walk while having a night terror and would run frantically through the house while sobbing hysterically. That was freaky.
ReplyDeletethanks, if he has a nap we make sure we are next to him whilst we wake up, we don't talk to him we just make sure he sees us and we give him time, once he's woken himself he's all happy and cuddly again. The taxi episode was a bit scary but I fully understood, he was restrained as well by the seatbelt so that didn't help!
ReplyDelete