Victory!!! Huzzah!!!
The Thumb War petered out into a weekend riot, similar to the tear gas and couch fires at Akron U on May Day. Ah. Sweet college memories.
The first night Elizabeth would roll over, put her thumb in her mouth, then wake up spiting and gagging. She'd run to the bathroom and rinse her mouth out and cry before falling back in bed and PUT HER THUMB IN HER MOUTH AGAIN. At about 4 am I was beating my head off my air mattress and screaming, "You know it tastes bad! WHY ARE YOU STILL PUTTING IT IN YOUR MOUTH?!?!?" She'd cry and moan, "I want it off!!!! BLECH!" and we'd fight with each other until we passed back out for another hour.
*shudder* We are waaaay too similar.
Kevin stayed with her the 2nd night which naturally--NATURALLY!--was a perfect night. She was worn out and didn't wake up.
The third night we both stayed until she fell asleep, then let her work through her night alone. I heard her in the bathroom spitting in the sink once--and she just dealt with it and headed back to bed. No crying. No moaning.
And now? It's over! Peace has been declared! The thumb sucking issue is dead!
Honestly, I am in shock. Greeny (and the sneaking of her thumb behind him) has been a big, irritating power struggle for over a year. It's almost like she used him to regress? He wasn't allowed out of the house--he wasn't supposed to leave her bedroom--but inevitably she'd smuggle him downstairs and zone out in front of the TV. Then we would find her with it, confront her, and she'd storm off angry.
I expected a month-long war over her blanket, but she willingly put him away in the attic and hasn't asked for him. She isn't sitting passively on the couch anymore--she's up and busy playing while a movie is on. She's excited to watch her thumb lose it's red lines and sores. Buying that nail polish and asking her to retire Greeny is the BEST move we could have made.
6 comments:
Yay! That sounded like a torturous process for all of you, but it paid off! Thank goodness.
Congratulations! I'm glad it didn't take as long as you thought it might.
I feel so confused. The last time I checked this blog site it was over and I feel like I dreamed that and am now reading another person's blog entries(????)
Well played, Jaci!
CONGRATS! :)
-CC
Good to see some blog entries! K-man bites his fingers constantly...drives us nuts and we are waiting for an infection to set in. Nothing can sway him from this nail biting...ugh. I may give the stuff you used a try - we have to be careful with everything because of his allergies but geez louise he can't keep chewing his nails down to nothing.
Good Job to you and congrats to Elizabeth!
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