Bedtime Battles-Part 4 (will this ever end?)

Well, I had a brief glimpse of the promised land earlier this summer. For a long while, Monster was going to bed, in his bed, with little or no fuss. We even had stretches of DAYS where he went to sleep on his own.

A big part was summer camp. He loved camp and would come home so bloody exhausted, he wouldn't have any problems sleeping. Finally, something that provided enough sensory input and fun that he was comfortable. I think the kid really is a whale-or has the soul of one. Keep him in water all damn day, and he is comfortable and happy.

Alas, nothing lasts forever.

It all started when I started traveling a bit more for work. I've done occasional trips in the past, but over the last 4 weeks, I've been gone about 7 nights-and the first trip I was gone for three nights in a row. One night, he started crying in that heart-wrenching way as if his best friend had died. After that trip, he was a bit more clingy than he had been, but he was still in camp. Then I went away again, just for 2 nights. His clinginess got worse. I wasn't allowed to sit in the next room, but had to be in his room with him. I would have to tell him where i was going (to the kitchen to cook, to the bathroom) and even then, he would come and check to see I was there every few minutes.

Then the surgery (see last post). For a few nights, I had to reassure him that he wasn't going to the doctor's the next day several times until he would go to sleep. He also has been telling me "no school", now that camp is over.

And now I'm, once again, gone. Mr texted me tonight that Monster just wasn't going to sleep, he wanted his mommy.

So it feels as if we are back to square 1, with the added torture of knowing what a "normal" bedtime is like.

In so many ways, it was so much easier when he was living in his own world. He didn't notice or wasn't interested in the rest of the world. That's not really correct, though, is it? He just couldn't express himself then, the way he can now. I wish I didn't have to travel without him and Mr. But seeing as we need my salary, and this job allows us to live in the school district of my dreams, we'll just have to find a way to get through it all.