Gavin and I got off to a late start in regards to his bloodwork, but Lizze and I both had rough night sleeping. Emmett was really struggling with everything. He couldn’t get comfortable in his bed, our bed, under any blanket, and no matter way we tried.
I slept on the couch because I felt that was the best way Lizze and Emmett would both be able to sleep. Emmett was sleeping before I went to the couch.
Anyway, Gavin and I are at the lab right now. He’s waiting for his turn and crossing his fingers that this will be the last daily blood draw.
As long as his numbers are good, we will probably move to weekly blood work, and Gavin’s okay with that.
I’m really hoping that his numbers are still good today..
Do you ever get respite? I have no idea how you do all this?
We usually get a night off every other weekend and my Mom hangout with them on Wednesdays.
Is Emmett old enough to self-soothe himself to sleep? I realize there would be short term (maybe even weeks) of problems. But even autistic kids can learn to lay in bed and amuse themselves until they are sleepy. I just worry, Rob, because you have quite literally been losing tons of sleep for years.
Thanks for worrying because I’m worried as well. Emmett has never been a selfsoother. Once something sorta knocks over the first domino, we have no idea how long things will be like this.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s not really relevant anymore whether he’s a self-soother or not. He’s old enough now to learn to be- or at least understand that it’s his own responsibility to figure out how he’s going to go to sleep- or what to do if he can’t. There are of course exceptions to that, but he shouldn’t continue to routinely rely on you for that.
Will definitely take some time and effort to get there. It’s certainly easier in the moment to camp out on the couch, but the time and effort you put into it will be better for him and better for you in the long run.
You can certainly disagree, but I think it’s time that you make a true concerted effort (with involves planning, dedication and consistent application) that you reclaim – or actually, just claim – the night as your time to sleep.
Hoping you get good results with Gavin.
Thanks Jimmy. I don’t disagree with you. I’ll just say that I’m not sure how to accomplish that. I don’t like sleeping if they’re still awake, and if Emmett’s not sleeping when we finish putting him to bed, he will not fall asleep on his own.
We need to figure something out.
I don’t understand why he cannot be told that he can be awake, as long as he follows the rules (that you will have to outline). You said he is a big rule follower. This might be a good way to test that out. He is old enough to learn this and continuing to cater to it will only make it more and more difficult.
Kim, I don’t fault you for not getting it. This is something that’s not easy to understand unless you’re living the same thing. I put out a poll about this not to long ago and last I checked, most parents in similar circumstances wouldn’t sleep if their child with #Autism was awake.
It’s one of those things that we just have to do what we feel is best. I truly wish is was that black and white but it’s not. That doesn’t mean we give up trying or looking for new ideas.