Wordy Wednesday

Today is Wednesday, right? I never know. Took Matthew to his pediatrician today. Since we have no clue what might have caused the hives (and there is the possibility they are from the viral infection), she didn't refer us to an allergist yet. Besides, it is allergy season here and probably 3/4 of the population is in misery.

We did talk about his sleep though and she wondered if his itchy skin is partly to blame. She prescribed a med similar to Benadryl but with a more sedative effect. She said he doesn't seem to have good sleep hygiene (can't self-soothe back to sleep), so this might help him get some rest, as well as get into the habit of drifting back off on his own should he wake from the itching. I will try it for a little while, but I don't even like to take aspirin...so we will see.

Yesterday Matthew napped a total of about 50 mins. He didn't fall asleep until 8p, had a restless nigt, woke up at 5a...and maybe drifted off once again for about 20 mins until I got him out of bed. Because of the dr.'s appt, he missed his morning nap, so I put him down when we got home around 10:45. He didn't fall asleep until 11:00...but was back up at 11:21! I am not one to go into his room when he is supposed to be sleeping, but this kid had been up since 5 and needed to sleep! So I stood next to his bed for about 20mins and helped him back to sleep. This time he lasted for another 20 mins. Once again, I am not an advocate for going in...but I put him in bed with me, got him in a bear hug, and finally he slept for a decent amount of time.

There are so many questions about his sleep. We can do everything the exact same way 7 days in a row, and he can have good sleep some days and bad sleep others. And there could be a bunch of factors or just one big one. But there is a possibility that he is a kid who is really affected when he is learning a new skill. I've noticed that lately he is playing really extra hard...he just learned to throw a ball...and it seems as if he doesn't want to stop playing. REALLY doesn't want to stop. His brain won't rest. Even when I am rocking him lately, he is different than a couple of weeks ago when he was sleeping pretty well. He now seems distracted and doesn't want to engage in some of the soothing, pre-bed things we do. Instead he keeps trying to get up and point at his toys. Who knows what the reason is???!!!

I will say that God has been doing good things in my heart regarding Matthew's sleep. It is very difficult to deal with a baby who is tired and fussy but won't sleep...as so many of you know! But God has been teaching me patience, and I'm losing that anxious feeling that I have to "fix it." I am still very protective of his good sleep time because it is so rare...when we were laying together earlier and he had finally drifted off, I made up mean songs in my head about taking a big rock and a slingshot to the crow in a nearby tree who was cawing, the neighbor's little dog who was yapping, and the loud construction truck that kept passing our house!