Insomnia

I'm not certain why I didn't sleep well last night. I finally got up at 5 a.m. but have been awake off and on all night. I even took a Tylenol Simply Sleep before bedtime. Maybe it was the glass of ice tea I had yesterday. Who knows. This week I am working without child care, as my parents are gone on a bicycle trip. That always makes me a little nervous, as I am at the mercy of Erik's naps as far as getting anything done or going out and picking up work. It is definitely doable, but I just couldn't work like this all of the time. I definitely don't take my parents for granted. Anyway, maybe I'm just formulating a plan of attack in my mind instead of sleeping.

As for all of the sleep I lost, I think Erik found it all. Our picnic in the park Saturday began with Erik sobbing uncharacteristically and then passing out on my lap. One thing Erik never does is fall asleep anywhere besides his crib or occasionally his car seat. We had picked a cool spot in the shade by the tennis courts, and he dozed on my lap while we chatted and had a very nice lunch. Lisa picked a perfect weekend to get together, as the heat had backed off a little bit. I really want to do that again before the end of summer. Yesterday Erik and I went to Kathy, Alan, and Dominick's house in the morning. We sat outside by the kiddie pool after slathering the boys in sunscreen and putting on their hats. Erik began leaning over the pool to look into the water. As I was talking to Kathy, I glanced over to see how he was doing and saw a string of drool making its way from under his bonnet to the surface of the water, which I thought was a little strange. He still drools but now usually only when he is in a state of intense concentration. His face was hidden by his sun hat, and he was practically motionless. I jumped up, thinking he was having some sort of absence seizure. Something just didn't seem right, and I went into combat mode. When I got to him, I realized he was completely asleep. His legs were beginning to bend slightly, and he was keeling over. If I hadn't gotten to him, he would have gone head first into the pool! Alan set up the playpen for me, even though I told him Erik probably wouldn't sleep in it, and Erik actually surrendered to it for a nap. He has been a little more fussy here and there, and most nights he still screams an hour or so after putting him down for seemingly no reason. Saturday night he cried for 30 minutes straight. However, last night he went down without a peep. I'm wondering if he is having a growth spurt. He seems to be getting so much taller. The average height for WS males is 5'6", but he was at the 50th percentile for normal kids not long ago, and he seems to have grown by leaps and bounds lately. I was so proud when his feet touched the step on his high chair!

I ordered a couple videos from WSA on Williams and am waiting for them to arrive in the mail. I have decided that it is time to get a feel for what Erik will be like as he grows into a young adult. Up until this point, I wasn't ready to find out. I can't keep my head in the sand for much longer, as Erik is growing so quickly and starting to talk and interact with others. Brian also wants to watch them. We have come a long way in this short period of time. I ordered an extra set of videos for my folks, and I imagine we will be lending them out to family, friends, and Erik's school. I hope they will arrive this week, because the anticipation is killing me. It's hard to explain what I am feeling right now. I know that Erik will be his own man with his own personality, but there are some common characteristics we will see in him because of Williams, and I believe we can almost take a glimpse into the future by watching these videos and eventually meeting some older kids with WS. How many parents can do that?