Containing a superhero

So, you know when Peter Parker was a kid and his uncle told him that "with great power comes great responsibility." It's a creed that all superheroes have to live by or bad things happen. We've seen the results: Superman goes evil in Superman 3. Apparently Spiderman has some issues in Spiderman 3 (I haven't seen it). Dr. Jean Grey does it in X-men 3. Anakin loses it in Star Wars 3. (Anyone see a theme here with superhero films?).

Being a mother of a superhero, I get that I'm supposed to be instilling this kind of inspirational stuff into my 2 year old. But really at this point, my ambition as a parent is just for him to go to bed before 10 p.m. 

After trying to lie with him on a pad in his room, having him lie with us in our room, doing the calming music like he has at school, adding aromatherapy baby soap (thank you California Baby) into the bath routine, rocking, singing, etc., in order to get our suddenly not tired boy to sleep we resorted to caging him in his room with a baby gate.

There was lots of crying as we tried to get his focus off the gate and onto reading bedtime stories. When he wouldn't have anything to do with us. We tried to hug him and kiss him goodnight and communicate that we were leaving. (I got bit on the forearm pretty good. There will definitely be a bruise even with the icing.) I went back in 10 minutes later and got him to calm down enough to read five bedtime books; after each one I told him that at the end of the stack, he needed to go to bed. I had him look me in the eyes and tell me that he understood after each book. 

When we got to the end of the pile. X-man laid down in defeat. I'm not sure what he thought was going to happen because he was fine -- until I stood up to leave. Then he lost it in hysterical crying again. I put him in his bed and kissed him goodnight, and before he could crawl out, I got out of the room and shut the gate.

I went in the bathroom and was chatting quietly with MacTroll about how hard it was to listen to him cry and call out for us. I got one contact out of one eye when I heard some pretty decent grunting. MacTroll and I walked into our bedroom and there was the kid. He had HEAVED his body up and over the gate -- Casey Seeger style.

So there goes the restricting movement idea. How does one contain a superhero? I guess I was foolish to even try.

I took out my second contact while MacTroll denied X-man Sesame Street Podcast. Then I showed X-man the ultra cool full and orange moon on the horizon, announced it was my bedtime and I crawled into bed. 

X-man finally quieted down, crawled into our bed and lay down between my legs with his head resting on my lower abdomen. He talked for a while, did some of that baby reflex thing (where they think they're falling and put out their arms) and boom 10 minutes later (around 9:15 p.m.) he was snoozing. 

So, maybe if we take him swimming from 3-4 p.m., then to the park from 4:15-5:30 p.m. and then to a picnic with friends and to Irish music in the park from 6 to 8 p.m., give him a bath and have him do hysterical crying from 8:20 until 9 p.m. we'll get him to go to sleep before 10 p.m. again tomorrow.

But I did like playing with his hair as he slept in my lap. It kind of made the hurt all go away having that moment with him and knowing he didn't even realize. 

And here he is busting a move to the Irish music tonight in Wheatfield Park in Urbana. A big thanks to Quigs for the photo.