People keep telling me, after a couple of days with a cast, children act as if nothing is wrong. This, I have not found to be true.
It’s 3 a.m. I’ve been calling LST a 3 a.m. bedside companion and I find myself needing one of my own at the moment. Nobody in this house has gotten more than a wink of sleep in two weeks. Sasha’s naps are even miniscule. We lie on the floor by her crib holding her hand because it is the only way to keep her from screeching like a car that won’t start, from screaming, “Mommy hold you, Mommy hooooold you, Mommy hooooooooooold you!” (Her voice is so hoarse she can barely talk.) We lie there with the door slightly ajar so as not to wake her when we leave. We lie there with one foot up against that open door to prevent the cat from coming in and screwing it all up. We lie there until she is baby-snoring and sucking her pacifier rhythmically and audibly. Then we try to exit. Carefully. QUIETLY. Inevitably, a sliding pant leg or creaking belt will sent her into hysterics and we’ll have to start the process all over again.
We have 3-4 more weeks to go.
Today we saw the orthopaedist and he suggested letting Sasha cry it out. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you know that I used the cry-it-out method with Sasha at 10 months and was pleased with the results. Up until the accident we were able to lie her in her crib and walk away with no fussing (unless she was sick or teething). But the anxiety in her cries these days feels totally different than those of her babyhood and the CIO method just doesn’t feel right and I don’t believe it would actually work.
I talked to her pediatrician and he recommended something that he called unorthodox. Funny, because he’s an orthodox Jew. He told us to try giving her Benadryl for a week before bed to help reestablish a regular sleep pattern. Tonight was our first night trying it and while it helped her to fall asleep, she woke up at 2:00 and it was back to our usual routine.
All I can do is look forward to the cast coming off. But the orthopoaedist says once the cast is removed she won’t be able to sleep because she won’t be used to not having it on.
Can anyone out there give me hope? Experience with a kid who was once a good sleeper, went through a rough patch, and came out a good sleeper again on the other side?
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