We've got a doctor's appointment today for my son. I'm actually thrilled that we
are going. He's been such a pain in the butt lately that I am at my wit's end.
Since his late infancy, he's been a lousy sleeper. Actually, he naps most days,
and sleeps most nights, but I suspect that he doesn't get enough REM sleep. He
flips and he flops. He snores and he grunts. Add that to his fixation on
touching the skin tag on my neck, and you get a co-sleeping nightmare. He wakes
with a start each morning. He's like one of those horror movie dolls. His eyes
pop open and he starts chattering. "Brontosaurus was the largest dinosaur of the
all. He had didn't have a crest on his head. That is the Brachiosaur, right,
Mommy? He ate all the leaves in the tops of the trees and made the ground shake
when he walked. Mommy? They also called him an Apatosaurus. Mommy, are you a
Maiasaura? Was I an egg? Is that silly, Mommy? Mommy?" I lay there until I can't
pretend to be asleep anymore, and then he follows me out to the kitchen,
chattering all the way. "Can we have donuts for breakfast, Mommy? Dinosaurs like
donuts, right, Mommy? What are you getting there? Does coffee taste good? Can I
color? Listen, Mommy! I'm going to tell you the alphabet...(screaming) Aaaaay!
Beeeee! Seeeee! Deeeee!" Lately, I've noticed that midway through one of his
monologues, he's usually worked up enough drool that he has to wipe. That, and
his epic tantrums lead me to think there is an underlying cause to his 'issues.'
Our pediatrician is great. Dr. Hauptman (or as the kids say "Dr. Hot") is
attentive and knowledgeable. I am hopeful that he will help me get a plan of
action to help my son get some rest, so he is able to deal with the little
disappointments that life dishes out without an outburst. In other family news,
the hubster is off for a business trip for the next few days. We packed the few
garments he needed and the 50 different toiletries. He's so funny. He has a
whole monologue that we go through every time he has to pack. "Alright, I get in
the shower and use the soap, the shampoo and the conditioner. Then I use the
shaving cream and the razor. Then deodorant. Hmm, okay, then I use this lotion
on my face. Then I brush my teeth. Then floss. Okay..." on and on and on. Why
does he have to say this out loud? I take the bad rap of being the genetic
source of my son's rambling verbal stylings. But gee, I think there's another
family member who displays this same tendency. Hmm... It's always interesting
when he's gone. I won't dare say it's fun, but the days flow together because we
are missing the daily departure and arrival of Daddy. We eat microwave popcorn
for breakfast, never have a second of sports on the TV and pretty much relax as
much as we can, since about 12 hours into it, I start to get crazy. I used to
have these big bursts of energy, and do psycho amounts of cleaning after the
kids dropped off to sleep, but these days I just try to keep my brain in my head
and my tongue set on G-rated phrases.