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Jul. 29th, 2007 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaAt 4:15am, Michael jumped up, dragging me out of a dream after him. Then I heard it too: Alex wailing upstairs. Mysteriously, no sound was coming out of the baby monitor that I know I turned up at bedtime. No idea how long she'd been crying before we heard it over the air conditioner.
"She's wet herself," Michael said as we stumbled out of the bedroom. It was the first night we'd given in to her request to sleep in underpants. And as we came into her room, that was what indeed she seemed to be saying through her sobs.
I picked her up. She felt dry, so I hustled her downstairs to the bathroom while she continued to cry hard. I reassured her that she was okay, that we were there, as I sat her on the potty. Michael came down and reported that her bed was also dry.
She broke off her sobs to say, "Mama, are you dressed?" No. "You need to get dressed!"
"I'm busy taking care of you right now, honey."
"There was a snake in my crib," she said abruptly.
"A snake? Oh, that sounds so, so scary."
"Scary," she agreed. She finished up on the potty and I carried her back upstairs, telling her that it was still nighttime, time to go back to bed.
"No, there's a snake!"
"Papa checked your bed, and nothing's in there. You had a bad dream."
She went into the crib willingly. I started the lullabye CD, found her pacifier, stroked her hair. Because she seemed so calm, I went downstairs to use the bathroom myself. Then she started to cry. I went back upstairs to find her huddled in a crouch, on her pillow.
"There's a snake! A snake right there!" She pointed at a wrinkle in her sheet.
I picked her up and sat down in the rocker, and we rocked. Rocked until her breathing slowed and her death grip on my arm loosened and her eyes closed. I slipped her into bed after about 45 minutes, went downstairs, climbed into my own bed, and immediately heard some whimpering and a "Mama!"
Back out of bed, stumbling in the dark. I sat down on the steps to listen. Silence. After about five minutes, I went back to bed, noticing that it was starting to get light outside, and fell into an uneasy sleep.
This morning she remembered: "There was a snake in my bed." We explained a little more about the nature of dreams. I'm sure she's had bad dreams before, but this is the first time she's ever been able to explain her experience.
Poor kid. Poor Mama.
"She's wet herself," Michael said as we stumbled out of the bedroom. It was the first night we'd given in to her request to sleep in underpants. And as we came into her room, that was what indeed she seemed to be saying through her sobs.
I picked her up. She felt dry, so I hustled her downstairs to the bathroom while she continued to cry hard. I reassured her that she was okay, that we were there, as I sat her on the potty. Michael came down and reported that her bed was also dry.
She broke off her sobs to say, "Mama, are you dressed?" No. "You need to get dressed!"
"I'm busy taking care of you right now, honey."
"There was a snake in my crib," she said abruptly.
"A snake? Oh, that sounds so, so scary."
"Scary," she agreed. She finished up on the potty and I carried her back upstairs, telling her that it was still nighttime, time to go back to bed.
"No, there's a snake!"
"Papa checked your bed, and nothing's in there. You had a bad dream."
She went into the crib willingly. I started the lullabye CD, found her pacifier, stroked her hair. Because she seemed so calm, I went downstairs to use the bathroom myself. Then she started to cry. I went back upstairs to find her huddled in a crouch, on her pillow.
"There's a snake! A snake right there!" She pointed at a wrinkle in her sheet.
I picked her up and sat down in the rocker, and we rocked. Rocked until her breathing slowed and her death grip on my arm loosened and her eyes closed. I slipped her into bed after about 45 minutes, went downstairs, climbed into my own bed, and immediately heard some whimpering and a "Mama!"
Back out of bed, stumbling in the dark. I sat down on the steps to listen. Silence. After about five minutes, I went back to bed, noticing that it was starting to get light outside, and fell into an uneasy sleep.
This morning she remembered: "There was a snake in my bed." We explained a little more about the nature of dreams. I'm sure she's had bad dreams before, but this is the first time she's ever been able to explain her experience.
Poor kid. Poor Mama.
