Big Elmo -- Revisited

Faithful readers might remember two posts from November when I wrote about Big Elmo. In case you want to refresh your memory (or learn the back-story to today's story) click here: -- Big Elmo -- and -- Day Two With Big Elmo -- ...Anyway... So, Big Elmo has been a member of our family for exactly three weeks today. We thought all was well with Kyle's new best friend, despite the fact that he's a huge red stuffed thing and so cheesy/tacky that Braydon and I can barely stand it and the epitome of child-targeted capitalistic consumerism that we try desperately to keep at bay and a representation of some amourphous strange "animal"/"monster"/strange-voiced character that we're all extremely unfamiliar with and and and and and (I could go on and on but I'll stop there). ...Anyway... So, we thought all was well. But, you must understand, that given the constant state of cumulative sleep deprivation that we find ourseleves in, lots of things that appear clear are, in fact, quite fuzzy. (and, vice-versa: lots of things that we find to be quite fuzzy, are, in fact, quite clear to most normal sane well-balanced people). ...Anyway... So, there's lots we wind up reporting on this blog. But there's lots and lots and lots that's not here. We only post once a day, and we can't write 24 hours worth of details, so most of what occurs and exists in our lives is actually not on our blog. ...Anyway... So, one thing we haven't been blogging about is that for the past several days (o.k., maybe exactly about 3 weeks or so), our boy Kyle has not been sleeping well. Actually, to be precise: he has been sleeping GREAT, but he's been taking HOURS to fall asleep. The boys are in bed by 8:00 every night-- but lately Kyle hasn't been falling asleep until 10:00 or, on several occassions, even later. Our poor child has been up in his bed AWAKE having SUCH a hard time falling asleep. At first we were concerned but thought it was just some sort of fluke or phase (this is, after all, our "angel" child that is the "easy" sleeper; our "textbook" child who falls asleep like clockwork in 20 minutes time just like all the baby books say they should.) We've been worried. I've been saying to Braydon, "My God! Do you think he has insomnia?!!!!!!!!!" And he's been saying to me, "My God! What are we going to do??????????????????!" ...Anyway... So, Friday night at 10:30pm, both Braydon and I in a state of utter panic, Braydon went upstairs to try to soothe Kyle once more, and he comes downstairs and says to me, "You know, I think it might be Big Elmo." I said, "What???????" And Braydon said, "Kyle's so revved up. And he's rolling around his bed with that damn thing, talking to it, and holding it over his head. I think Big Elmo might be the problem." I just stood there, expressionless, just looking at my brilliant husband. It was as if he had just solved all the world's problems or discovered something worthy of the Noble Prize. "Oh my God!" I said, "You think???" Braydon went up to Kyle's room, told him that "Big Elmo is going to sit on the couch" and put the huge red stuffed thing on the couch in Kyle's room. Ky Ky was asleep within 5 minutes. Last night we made a big production of putting Big Elmo "to bed" in "his own bed" and layed him on a big pillow in the corner of Kyle's room and put a blanket over him. Kyle kissed him goodnight, made sure he was tucked in just so, and was asleep within 10 minutes of laying down in his own bed. Same story again today at nap -- asleep within 20 minutes, without Big Elmo. My thinking was "3rd time's a charm"; if he fell asleep tonight just fine, without Big Elmo, then my extrardinarily brilliant bright beloved husband was RIGHT. And yes, again, tonight -- Kyle tucked Big Elmo into to that "bed" in the corner, climbed into his own bed, and was asleep in that 20 minute angel-baby-time-frame-out-like-a-light. Big Elmo and Kyle will sleep separately from this point on. NO BED-MATES FOR OUR KY KY. At least not for a long, long, long time.