Doctor Visits

Gracie went to the dr this morning for her 2 yr well check-up. She is doing great. She weighs 29 pounds (75th percentile) and is 34 inches tall (45th percentile). Her head is still in the 97th percentile- just like her brothers. Although giving birth to those giant headed babies was no fun, we like to think that those big heads are filled with big brains! :-)

Jason slept from 8am until me and Gracie got back from the dr. About 3 1/2 hrs. I got to sleep when I got home from the dr. I slept about 3 hrs. We're very ready for bed tonight, to say the least!

Rhett's appointment was after school. Dr. confirmed that he is in fact having night terrors. He said that it affects about 1 in 3 children age 3-12 and it peaks between ages 4-6.
Factors that can cause them are:
1. Life stresses
2. Fever
3. Lack of sleep
4. Medications that affect the brain

He has 3 of the 4; including 2 recent life changing events. You can't really prevent them from happening, but they will outgrow them and typically only last 6 months after life changing events.

The part of the information sheet that he gave us that sticks out in my mind says this, "Night terrors are frightening episodes that disrupt family life. They usually only last a couple minutes but can last up to 30 minutes before your child relaxes and returns to normal sleep. Even short episodes seem extremely long because they are terrifying to those around them." This pretty much sums it up...

Dr. says that some suggest there may be a slight electrolyte imbalance, so giving him some gatorade with dinner or before bed might help. He also suggested a natural melatonin supplement to help relax and induce restful sleep.

We are going to allow him to sleep with us for a while until he gets over this. We're hoping it will help him feel more secure when he falls asleep and may help him to sleep all night. We are also going to try to get back into a bedtime routine like we used to do when he was little. Warm bath, bedtime story, etc.

We got the gatorade and melatonin, which we will definately try tonight. The lady at the health food store also suggested a DHA supplement for him. (For all the kids, actually.) She said that it is known to help with overall well being with an empasis on mood/stress. Obviously, I'm desperate, so I bought that too. $41, 2 tiny bottles of herbal supplements & a 6 pack of gatorade bottles later, I'm feeling more optimistic about tonight.

I'm sure that Jason and I have racked up a combined total of more than 30 hours of prayer over this, and we are fully aware that's the most important ingredient to all of this. We know our God is bigger than these night terrors and we trust Him to take care of Rhett; to comfort him and give him rest. We also fully trust that He will give Jason and I strength and courage to face the nights and survive the sleep deprived days. We know that although difficult, this is a season of life that like the other trying times we've experienced as parents, will soon pass and will become a memory. We're just thankful that Rhett's health checked out ok and to find out that this is "normal" and we're doing the right thing. That's all we can do.