Sleep, finally?
We brought Stephen in today for an assessment by a Pediatric Sleep Psychologist. I never even knew they existed. After listening to the saga, he gave us a routine specifically for Stephen. I used it tonight, and it worked as far as falling asleep goes. A LOT of crying, but I was there with him the entire time - consoling him.
I'll have to get "tougher" as time goes on, but hopefully he'll understand that I'm acting out of love - not neglect.
The thing that gets me, though, is that if this method ends up working, I was probably the one who created the whole problem in the first place. I know that everybody makes mistakes, but if I screwed this one up, I made us all suffer for 3 years. And I made myself look ridiculous. I used to be able to "diagnose a problem" but either I've overplayed my hand or just lost my knack. I guess I need to stop doing that, before I give Stephen a hernia.
I'll have to get "tougher" as time goes on, but hopefully he'll understand that I'm acting out of love - not neglect.
The thing that gets me, though, is that if this method ends up working, I was probably the one who created the whole problem in the first place. I know that everybody makes mistakes, but if I screwed this one up, I made us all suffer for 3 years. And I made myself look ridiculous. I used to be able to "diagnose a problem" but either I've overplayed my hand or just lost my knack. I guess I need to stop doing that, before I give Stephen a hernia.