Don't let the sweet face and twinkle in the beautiful blue eyes fool you - this little girl can be a stinker!
Tonight she had, what I am going to refer to as, a "melt-down."
Over stimulation?! Too much previewing of birthday sweets?! Super short nap?! Not enough time with Mommy?!
Whatever the cause, or "trigger," it was bad. Two hours of screaming, crying, kicking legs, head bagging, pulling her hair, hitting her head with her hands, pulling her ears, rolling around on the bed, thrashing her body. Two hours!
I rocker her - I cradled her - I held her close- She would cry and toss and turn, and push me away. As soon as she pushed away, she's scream and snuggle into me with her head at my breast. Then the cycle would start again.
She seemed to like being held, but being held seemed to overstimulate her and wind her up again.
Finally, I tried something different - I don't know how I thought of it - it just came to me as a answer to my silent prayer for God to help me help her. I laid her down on the bed and laid pillows all around her - two on each side - her right and left, her head and feet. The pillows were touching her - creating a soft cocoon. I then wrapped a light blanket around her and placed a pillow on top of her for pressure. Just one little head with wispy blond curls could be seen among the stack of pillows. Her crying stopped almost immediately, and her whimper turned into deep breathing. Within 3 minutes she was sound asleep.
I don't know whether it was the security of being enveloped in fluff, or that she simply wore herself out and anything I tried would have worked in that moment, but there is peace on the other side of turmoil. God is good. All the time.
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