March 11, 2001 - Sunday
It was another bad morning. I was the one to get up at 4:30am and go to his room. That last few days, going to him has caused the negative result of turning his plaintive whining into straight out screaming. But, with trepidation, and since he wasn't going back to sleep, I brought him some milk. He refused it adamantly. I took him from his crib, laid down on the cushion on the floor, and tried to lull him back to sleep. But, there was no lulling this mood. He was squirming, kicking, and fighting every effort. I let him go. He sat and cried.

As parents, I thought, it's up to us to show Harry the way whether he knows why or not and I decided Harry needed sleep. The fight began again. I'm stronger than Harry and holding him firmly had worked last night when we were trying to get him to go to sleep after an exciting evening of play at a friend's house. However, it met with more spotty success on this occasion.

There were plenty of times along the way in the wee hours of this morning when Harry seemed ready and, indeed, trying to sleep, but pain was getting in the way. After more than a hour of singing and coaxing and almost winning the sleep battle several times, Harry squirmed loose again and I let him hit for a moment. I remembered a recent teething discussion with a mother of two grandmother of one I know who advocated pressing the gums hard to alleviate the pressure. It hurts, of course, in the short term, but it eases the constant agony. I tried it. Harry didn't like it. I offered him milk again and he drank and drank until his cup was almost empty.

Then, an amazing thing happened. Harry was quiet. He laid down and fell asleep awkwardly against my side. I shifted him, he woke, but feel asleep again quickly. I had been thinking I'd just stay with him the rest of the night, but he seemed to have changed his mood so I put him in his crib. He stirred a couple of times, pouted briefly, but seemed destined for sleep, if even just a light sleep. I left him and went to bed.

I'm not sure whether it was the milk or the gum pressing, but Harry was asleep for the rest of the early morning. The victory was short-lived, though. We had a full day ahead of us. Harry was not at his best.


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