Another dull post about sleep written by a sleep-deprived parent

It's looking like we will need to take Quinn for one of those overnight pediatric sleep evaluations, assuming we can get our insurance to pay for what I'm sure is an absurdly high fee. Quinn is taking over an hour to fall asleep with meds and still waking up multiple times per night, and at least twice a week he is up for hours in the middle of the night. We are so tired.

The cause of all this is not just that Quinn doesn't "need" more sleep. He is tired and cranky often. Sometimes in the middle of the night he is happy to be awake, but usually he is red-faced, crying, frustrated, and unable to get to sleep. He nods off instantly almost every time we take him for a drive. He is often late to school because after being up for hours in the night, he finally falls asleep at 6 in the morning, and we don't have the heart to wake the exhausted little man.

And though I am a bit grumpy due to sleep deprivation, if one more person says something about how "normal" it is for kids to have sleep problems, I might say something quite rude. There is nothing normal about kids and parents not getting adequate sleep for more than a few weeks at a time for over three and a half years even after reading numerous sleep books, getting ear tubes (which were supposed to help with sleep by relieving uncomfortable pressure), making multiple doctor visits, and trying three different sleep medications.

Grrr. End of rant. Off to bed.

Sibling rivalry

We bought this doll for Quinn awhile ago, just because I thought it was cute. It makes gurgling and drinking sounds when you "feed" it with the attached bottle. He has not really been interested in the doll.

Tonight I was playing around and holding the doll like a baby and feeding it. Quinn grabbed it from me and slapped it and said "bye bye"! I held the baby again, just to see what he would do, and he repeated the grabbing, hitting, and "bye bye".

It's fun to see Quinn exhibit developmentally "normal" behavior. And I guess it's good we have no immediate plans to give him a sibling.

Quinn checks out the iPad at the apple store

Quinn gets a big plush bunny for Easter

Quinn does his favorite activity: looking out the window at cars and trucks

Quinn video!

Now that I have my new iPhone3GS, we should have more Quinn videos! Here's one of Sarah reading Mouse Mess, with Quinn chiming in with the occasional word when we encourage him. He's better at this than I thought he would be. I think there are some words that he just knows by sound and can say even though he doesn't know what they mean (e.g. "about," which he doesn't say in this video but he did for me just before).

Oh my God, this is hilarious

From The Onion, of course:

Autistic Child Ruins Marriage He Was Born To Save

HOUSTON—With the challenges accompanying his developmental disorder widening the already vast gulf between his parents, autistic child Evan Thomas, 3, continued this week to destroy the failing marriage he was brought into this world to save.

Evan, who through the very act of being born was entrusted with the task of resolving lingering conflicts, soothing deep-seated contempt, and restoring intimacy to Mark and Sharon Thomas' long-strained relationship, has thus far utterly failed in his assigned duties, sources reported Monday.

[...]

Read the whole thing.

Look Who's in a Big Boy Bed!

We didn't intend to start putting Quinn in a Big Boy Bed just yet. But last night, he was crying at bedtime, so I took him out of the crib and figured I'd read him an extra story. I was very surprised when he walked over to his tiny toddler couch-futon, opened it up, and laid down! So for nap this afternoon and for bedtime tonight, we just put him in it. He seems very happy! This particular Big Boy Bed will have to be temporary. There's no way to wash it as it's just a piece of novelty furniture (looks kinda like this, with starfish, not Thomas), and it's too tiny for one of us to lie down with Quinn if he needs some extra cuddling when he's sad or sick. So this week, we'll be getting him a full-size futon to put on the floor. It seems like Quinn's just growing by leaps and bounds lately. He's really not a baby anymore. Well, except for that binky. But who knows, maybe he will surprise us and just toss it in the garbage tomorrow.

Excuse me while I brag about my kid some more

Quinn has had an amazing couple of weeks. Potty training continues - he's been doing #1 all week in the potty at home and at school, and just this morning, he did a "real" #2 at home! He still needs his pull-ups, and doesn't consistently ask to use the potty when he needs to, but we are delighted at his interest and willingness to use the potty at least sometimes.

He's also talking A LOT. Saying "watch" because he like's Zac's new watch and "banana" even though he won't eat one. I'd say he has about 25 words now, most of which he does not say consistently, but he is really coming along.

So very excited to see all of his progress. We're off to the toy store to get the little guy a special treat.

Potty talk

I'm almost too tired to blog this, so I'll keep it short. Besides, this isn't something you'd want too much detail about. Quinn did a tiny (as in, you'd need a magnifying glass) #2 in the potty today. We weren't thinking he was really ready, but he was showing interest, which was fine by us. So it was a complete surprise. But it was definitely intentional, as evidenced by Quinn's giant smile of pride at his accomplishment, even before I offered praise and a chocolate chip. I am SO proud of my little guy.