Monk?

Happy Hump Day, everyone! Things are going ok. Sleep deprived, as usual! I think we're raising Adrian Monk. If you've never seen that show, you can watch clips at the link. He's this detective with all kinds of quirks. People (including teachers) have commented on how Aidan is just "different" and that he is "particular." First there was the colic and the inability to sleep soundly. Then there was the fiasco with the first daycare that was sure he had SID, which was their label for his quirkiness. Then the asthma, the allergy to his soap, and now possibly the peanut allergy (which we find out about a week from today). And currently he seems to be having night terrors in the middle of the night. We've obviously known that some nights he sleeps well and some nights he does not. Last night over dinner we decided that when he woke up screaming next that we'd turn on the lights and see if we could figure out what is wrong. We did that and it really looked like a night terror state. We've both taken numerous classes where it's talked about and it really isn't any big deal except for the parents. One more thing to deal with! I have to say thanks and send a big "shout out" to mom and her sisters, who have been notorious for stage 4 sleep issues (i.e., sleep walking and sleep jerking). These sorts of sleep issues seem to run in families.

One beautiful thing about co-sleeping is that synchronous arousals occur for parents and child. This means that all parties are in the same sleep states at the same time and that they will all wake or nearly wake (it's natural to wake or nearly wake at several times during the night) at the same points throughout the night. This makes for more rested sleep for all parties even when you have a period of wakefulness in the middle of the night. I've been really alarmed and confused lately because he's been waking up some nights screaming hysterically at odd times and I've been sleep deprived in a way that I hadn't been in the past when he'd wake up several times a night to nurse. It's been killing us. One of the things that we learned about night terrors (from what we could remember coupled with what we googled) the night terror occurs in stage 4 sleep, which is a deep sleep. If we're all synchronized and he starts screaming in the middle of stage 4 sleep, Jason and I are being woken at the absolute worst time, leading to sleep deprivation. The best time to be woken is REM sleep, for those of you who want to know. This solves the mystery but not the problem. We'll have to work on that next.

One thing is for sure. Through all of these conditions that Aidan has, I've learned a lot about my family (and Jason's). For example, until Aidan had asthma we didn't know all of the family history of asthma in my family. Also, when someone says "nut allergy" people come out of the woodwork to tell you all about the family allergies. Would be nice to know these things beforehand!!!!!

All else is going well. Jason leaves for Tucson tomorrow. Nana is coming to help with Aidan so that I can continue to work. Sabrina stayed with Aidan last night and they had a good time while Jason and I went out to dinner. We also stopped by Toys R Us to look at jungle gym sets. We think he'd like one but we can't see paying so much for it. We'll have to look for a used one. It's just a hunk of plastic!

As for our attitude about the quirkiness, why would we expect anything less? He's perfect!