Journal Entry: September 6, 2012

September 6, 2012

First, today was an anomaly.  I started this on short sleep, and have not been managing my rest well, since it started.  So, after starting the blog, I crashed last night, and crashed HARD.

Amy had to take care of Echo most of the day, today, because I was exhausted.  Most of the time line that follows is what she sent me.

First “observation” of the day is that, to do this well, I have to manage my activity and rest better than I have so far.

Timeline:

• ·         0915 – Amy came into den.  Echo was awake.  I was not.  Amy took her out and she peed. Amy fed her after.  Then, Amy took her out and she pooped.  According to Amy, it seems healthy.  The end of it seems difficult, and a bit soft.  I have noticed that, too, previously.  I figured it would pass soon. … Alternated between short naps, and playing in the yard.  Encounters with Gimli did not go badly, but they did not go well, either.
• ·         1130 – Naptime!
• ·         1250 – woke up, peed; spent most of the afternoon building up Vitamin D (out the backyard, playing sometimes, almost always in direct sunlight).   Various “precipitation” (not sure how often or when she peed.)
• ·         1430 – Naptime! … not sure when she woke up from that one, but …
• ·         1710 – Naptime!
• ·         1810 – woke up, and played
• ·         1845 – Faked Naptime
• ·         1910 – Actual Naptime
• ·         1950 – Woke up
• ·         2200 – Ate
• ·         2215 – pooped. … Amy said “Soft, but stinky”.
• ·         2115 – Played in hallway with Gimli.  During this, she had her first “accident” in the house. (More later)
• ·         2200 – I come home from Legion Band Rehearsal/Thurston County Veterans Council Meeting.  Amy is, almost, in tears.  Gimli is trying to be “The Dog”, and Echo is … “over-tired” (More later)
• ·         2230 – Echo crashes.  Minor blips in that occur.  Until …
• ·         0140 – pees
• ·         0300 – wakes up, and is kind of crazy.
• ·         0340 – pees and crashes

Observations

• ·         Echo, like any young child, hits point where she is “overtired”/”overstimulated”. … You know, the classic, “too tired to go to sleep” situation.  At this point, we are not catching the early indicators of that very well.  … We need to learn her early signs of that better. 
• ·         While Amy has been present for everything going on with Echo, she has not fallen into the “rhythm”.  Say what you will about smoking and smokers, but, I am one.  I don’t smoke inside my house, and I smoke a cigarette about every 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes.  With Echo’s need to pee, that is perfect.  Everytime I have a craving for a cigarette, I take her out to pee, whether I get a cigarette, or not. … I’ve missed more than a few cigarettes over the last few days, but Echo has been peeing outside, consistently. … Amy does not have that kind of internal clock.  She just “missed” the window.  Echo peeing in the hall was, really, no one’s fault.  … I know both, Amy and Echo, felt bad about it afterwards.
• ·         My previous two points have been about “balance”, basically.  There is another “balance” issue: Gimli.  He has moments where he “acts out” against Echo.  Nothing hurtful, but indicators that there might be a bigger problem coming.  They, mainly, come out when she is “overtired”/”overstimulated”.