Sleep Hitting

 Jackson looks pretty chill, doesn't he? Well - he's not! He is in the midst of his "terrible two's" (as people insist upon calling it, and as much as I don't like the stereotype... I can't come up with anything better). He's crazy; he hits and is constantly flipping over furniture, throwing toys and making a mess out of something.

I've also discovered that this behavior is not limited to his waking hours.

As for all bad habits in our house, I've been very lenient since Gregory went to Oklahoma. I'm not forcing potty training or giving up the occasional "baba" (bottle). It's traumatic enough that one parent has mysteriously disappeared - I'm trying to be a comfort and a source of consistency right now. The time for serious discipline will return once I have back-up and our family is together again.

 Therefore, I've let Jackson get used to sleeping with me. He always starts the night in his bed, but inevitably wakes up during the crazy wee hours of the night and is crying. I'm surviving here as a single parent, but not thriving. I'm getting the sleep I can - and if that means Jackson is next to me at some point every night, I'll take it.

 Only lately, his dreams or whatever semi-conscious state he is in at 3 am have started to get violent. Jackson yells out his signature "NOOOOO!" every minute, in between moments of absolute silence. It's just long enough for me to foolishly think that he's actually fallen asleep and then he is yelling again. He kicks and rolls back and forth, sighing into his pillow like an old man with back problems.

 His antics started pretty early last night (before midnight), so I was still awake to lie there and witness the action. Crying, rolling, stealing the blankets and then WHAM!, I got hit. He yelled "NO!" and took a full swing and hit my shoulder. This is not sleep walking, sleep talking or sleep eating... my son is a sleep hitter.

 It's pretty difficult to scold a sleeping child, so I just moved him back into his bed and covered my head with the pillow until his yelling quieted down. It might have even been a success. But we'll see, it's still early tonight...