Seperation anxiety

DW has gone abroad for a business trip for a few days. She was rather worried that I would be over-exhausted looking after this anxious child 24 hours a day. (Long-term readers of this blog may recall that I described DS as a high-need spirited child who woke up very frequently at night.)

Well, so far, so good. For the first three nights, DS waked up the first time only at around 4:00am, and again at around 6:00am, demanding for breast nursing, though doing it much more intensely at the second awakening. I could handle them. "Perhaps I can make use of the chance to nightwean him altogether", I thought.

The real challenge came last evening. After dinner, I left DS to my mom and elder brother (who came to help on that day) for just 20 mins, and went out to restock kitchen stuff for use in the coming week. When I returned, I was shocked to know that DS had cried hysterically during those 20 mins - perhaps he thought I had also gone abroad.

How poor, he did not stop crying even after the warm bath, did not want to go to sleep, only wanted me to hug him very tightly, as if I had to swear that I would never leave him again....

At last, I nestle him down, and told him a story: how SS (our 12.5-year-old cat) joined this family. When I finished, he had already fallen asleep, and slept a 6-hour stretch before first awakening.

I had never thought I could be a story-teller, but that was the best story I had ever told.