All About Your Child

(This is a continuation from the previous post. I strongly suggest that you read the previous one before going on to this…or else, you might be going “Huh?”, “How come?” , “What was that?”, “Why” as you read along) So please go ahead and read the previous post first….

The old folks say, “Its because he (Binbin) is a ‘2-eyed’ (on the top of his head) kid. ‘2-eyed’ kids are ALWAYS a difficult child.”

The superstitious say, “He could have been disturbed by the ‘unclean‘, hence he doesn’t rest well for so many days, afterall we ARE 10 days into the one month long Hungry Ghost Festival. Go wash him with ‘hong hua’ leaves and he will be fine.”

The logicalist say, “He may have over-played during the day or just before he sleeps, that’s why he can’t rest well.” (Hey it was many days ok! Not just one day, so I disagree with this)

Whatever it is. This HAD TO STOP. After what happened on the previous night. This morning at 1am, he started yelling again while I was blog hopping to finish off my 300+ posts-yet-to-be-read…

Remember my hint? I wasn’t asleep, so I wasn’t pissed. I was ready to play the waiting game. My mind was all set and geared up to the challenge.

I stepped away from my PC and walked towards the bedroom, he was jumping up and down on my bed with his knees bent. I asked him, “Are you ok? What happened?”

“Ahhhhhh…….MMaaaaaMMeeeee, I Want You!” he yelled in response.

“OK, I’m here. Come, Mommy hug you.” As I moved towards him, he backed off and hit his back against the wall and started banging himself against it.

It became my turn to back-off, till it was 1 meter away from him, that’s when he stopped the banging but still in the tantrum condition.

I kept quiet. I waited. I waited for him to speak first. I waited for him to tell me what he was truly unhappy about. He knows me well. He knows I am waiting for the answer.

After 2-3mins, he stopped moving. He stopped yelling. He stared blankly on my crumpled bedsheet. After another 2-3mins, he fell asleep.

I walked away, back to my PC. Managed to type but another 5 alphabets and it started again! He was banging and screaming.

“Yes Binbin? What do you want? Milk?” I begged for an answer, but completely at peace mentally, ‘cos I wasn’t sleepy.

“Yaaaeeeeeesssssss!” answered unwillingly and in an absolute angry tone, as if he felt he have lost in the Mastermind game whereby I read his thoughts so well.

Allan prepared his milk, but half the usual quantity, fearing that he may wet the bed at night if he fell asleep again while sucking his bottle.

Upon seeing his milk bottle, he yelled and started another tantrum which have stopped some seconds ago, “Don’t want! I don’t want! Waaaaaahhhhhh!”

I put it aside, without a word and again, he sat there motionless for minutes and dozed off in a sitting position with his legs bent backwards. So I went to my PC again, this time I managed to get another sentence on the comment box and there goes my 3 year old again at the top of his voice, whining away in attempt to wake all my neighbours.

I took the milk and put it in front of his face without saying a word. He backed off again. This time he stuffed his little bum into the gap between my bed and the wall. At that corner, he continued to cry, to whine, but much longer this time, as if to fight his tireness in order not to doze off again, but he failed. He slept with his bum stuck in that tiny gap between the bed and the wall.

Again I walked away, but this time, before I was even seated, he screamed, “I WANT MORE MILK MILK!”

OH! So that’s what he wanted. So I went to prepare a NEW bottle of milk, ‘cos the previous one prepared by the dad was way too cold for consumption already.

I put it in front of his face. He took it. Yeah! I thought. But I celebrated too early, the next moment, he threw it on the mattress and wet his own bed when the milk spilled out. I glared at him. Still keeping my mouth closed. I’m not gonna shout, not gonna yell and definitely not gonna do what I did yesterday.

Allan knew it was NOT a normal tantrum, he got up and took charged, he wanted me to stop the waiting game, he wanted to do the hard way, but gently. He carried the struggling kid to the kitchen. As Binbin kicked and beat his dad, the man was determined to get the unfamiliar kid out of the bedroom in fear of waking up the elder one who was happily talking in his sleep.

Binbin grew tired of struggling, ‘cos he knows in term of strength, he was bound to lose to his dad. He rested his tired body completely on the chest of his dad. Allan started to ask questions, “Binbin, we want to help you feel better. But if you don’t tell us, we can’t help you.”

“I DON’T WANT YOU!!! GO AWAY!! i WANT MOMMY!!!” screamed my boy.

But Allan know his little boy too well, he knew that it was a trick, he just want to fly out of his clutches. Allan refused to let go even though Binbin was kicking and beating even harder than before on the big-walking-punching-bag.

Allan suggested that I should switched on the Playhouse Disney channel for him, he thinks that that may calm him down. I obeyed. He carried the child to the living room from the kitchen and rested him on the sofa.

He quietened down and demanded angrily, “I WANT MY BABY BOLSTER AND MY CUTE LITTLE BABY!”

I did as commanded by my little sergeant. He lied down on the sofa, hugging his bolster and his little bear, sucking his milk with his eyes glued on the TV. I NEVER ALLOW THAT!!! Allan knew I was unhappy but he gave me the eye-signal, “just for this time, ok? just this one time…”

Allan was extremely exhausted, it was 3am in the morning, he went to bed and snored in seconds. I went back to my PC and typed yesterday’s post. When I was through, I heard the sound of the TV being switched off. Little foot steps were approaching me and when I turned my head, the little rascal was smiling at me, “Mommy, can you switch off the PC, I need to sleep already.”

That was the sweetest sentence ever for the entire day! He slept in less than 5mins, but I was wide awake still. I continued my blog hopping and at 4.30am, it was Keatkeat’s turn, he was up sneezing, mucus were all over his mattress cover and pillow case, my poor Allan was woken again!

We cleared up the mess but Keatkeat wouldn’t stop sneezing. I gave him the runny nose medicine and stayed beside him till he was back in dreamland again. By then at 5.30am, I was exhausted, that’s when I switched off my PC and went off to bed…

Its 9.45pm now, almost time for bed for the kids. My fingers and toes are crossed real tight. Will today be the 3rd day in a row, to have another crazy night with my 3 year old? *sigh* Will you keep your fingers and toes crossed for me too?

Yes parenting is probably the most challenging job in the world, ‘cos the person(s) you are dealing with is your own flesh and blood,

In order to get out of a situation like working under an awful superior OR being in a job that sucks energy out of you more than the satisfaction it gives you, is just a resignation letter. But you can NEVER tender that letter to your child or children, or CAN YOU, like putting them in a box and leave them in the middle of a forest, eh?

It’s been days….I’ve lost count, that my 3 year old Binbin hasn’t been sleeping well. Tossing and turning in the middle of the night. Climbing up to my bed from his mattress and kicking his dad’s butt to the ground to ‘rightfully‘ own that spot next to me.

All these is fine, is tolerable, is rather understandable too. A nightmare would wake me up and when that happens, I would love to lie close to the person I love most or feel most secure with, in order to get myself back to dreamland again.

But yesterday (08.08.08) was a true nightmare, or rather an early wake up call from my little rooster. It was 6am in the morning, the sky was still as dark as my hair. Binbin started screaming and yelling at the top of his voice after he fell off the bed.

I hugged him, in attempt to console him and calm him down, at the same time to check if there was any injury or cuts, HE PUSHED ME AWAY! I was thinking, “Did he think that I was the one who pushed him off the bed?”

He continued his yelling, hey, my super-elastic-patience-band was on the verge of snapping. Afterall, I haven’t been getting well deserved rest ever since the 2 days of 12 hours of standing in the heat AND the tossing and turning of this little rascal every night. I wonder if this act was a punishment for me for leaving him alone with his dad and brother for 2 days. I wonder.

I coaxed him, I begged him with my eyes half-opened, “Yes Binbin, what is it? What do you want?” He was starting a tantrum, a real tantrum with kicking and banging and throwing stuff around…THAT WAS IT! I SNAPPED!!!

“Look here!!! You woke everyone up in the middle of the night just to see you throw a tantrum?! I can’t accept this! I’m gonna count to 3 (Binbin is too familiar with this, he knows that at the end of 3 counts, if he doesn’t answer my question, I will be out of his sight. The dearest person in the whole world out of his sight is the worst punishment for this little boy of mine. I hardly need to get to this for my elder son), TELL ME WHAT DO YOU WANT??!”

Without even saying “1”, he yelled, “I want glucose water!”

Fine! I’ll get you that! I get cooled down the moment the kid talks to me. I’m this kind of parent. You can throw a tantrum, you can whine, but at the end of it, you must tell me the reason behind the tantrum, behind the whining, that’s me. Don’t ever try to go non-stop on that, I’m not into that kind of game!

I got his glucose water, handed it to him. Did you think that was it? NO! He shove my hand away and knock his bottle off! Boy oh Boy, I was pissed. Hey I was very sleepy ok?! Can’t I be pissed? He wanted the glucose water, I gave it to him. Without drinking it, he slapped it off my hand!

THAT’S IT! You want a tantrum? I’ll give you a TANTRUM! I was slapping every pillow around me! I was even yelling! Oh yes I was! I stared at him and screamed at his face, “LIE DOWN AND DRINK YOUR GLUCOSE WATER RIGHT NOW!!!” This is a side of me that you probably could never have imagine, I guess! Don’t wake me up from my sleep for no reasons- that’s the hint! The only people I want to apologize to are my poor neighbours……but the crucial question is Did It Work???

It did!!!! Though in total shock and still in tears, he was still able to pick up the bottle and suck that sweet drink down his throat. It’s an open secret that sucking calms a baby and it still does for a toddler. Before he could even finish the 100ml off, he was fast asleep till 11.15am.

———————————————————————————-

Today or rather NOW, he did it again, but I was wide awake before he even started his rounds again. It started at 1am….now, it 3.30am. My tactic was very different today, (remember the hint? ‘cos I wasn’t asleep yet)

But I’m really tired now and he is finally willing to talk now. He just walked up to me to tell me that he wants to sleep, like as if nothing happened for the past 2 hours.

I’ve got to go get him and myself some rest….today’s story is more exciting…but I’ll leave it till the sun is up in the sky before I rant blog about it…so good night everyone….