Blue Tarantula

Last night everyone but Madeleine got a very interrupted, very horrible night of sleep; consequently, we're all exhausted today. The reason for our poor night of sleep all stems from Julia being absolutely terrified of a video we'd rented from the library the day before. You're probably trying to think of what video is scary enough to keep a 3-year old up all night in terror; there are many obvious options. I'll save you guessing: it was a Max & Ruby video. MAX & RUBY. This is the child who has watched The Dark Crystal, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Muppet Christmas Carol (with ghosts!) and many similarly frightening movies without ever having a nightmare about them. So we rent a Max and Ruby video from the library and THAT is what keeps her up the whole night?? I mean, the show is about bunnies, and it's about the dullest, slowest-moving show I've ever seen in my life. She was afraid of the blue tarantula that Ruby tells Max about before bed. It turns out, in the episode, that there is no blue tarantula and that Ruby was just trying to scare Max. Well, I don't know if Ruby succeeded in scaring Max, but she sure as heck scared Julia. Here is a synopsis of how the evening went:

8pm
Julia comes downstairs.
ETHAN: What's the problem, Julia?
JULIA: Uh, Mommy forgot to give me Benadryl.
ME: You don't need Benadryl anymore, honey. Your cold is better.
JULIA: Um, but I think I do need it.
ME: No, you're fine, and you need to go back to bed.

8:02pm
Julia comes downstairs.
ME: What, Julia?
JULIA: Um, Mommy? But I feel FUNNY.
ME: You're fine, Julia. You need to get back in bed.

8:05pm
Julia opens her door and starts walking down the stairs.
ETHAN: Can you tell her this is the last time she's coming out of her room?
ME: Julia, get back in bed and do not come out again.
JULIA: But Mommy, I'm scared!
ME: Of what?
JULIA: Of the blue tarantula! I think I need to sleep in your room.

This was followed by me walking her back to bed, teaching her some coping techniques I had used as a kid when I was scared, pulling away from her arms, desperately clutched around my neck while she pled to sleep with us, and leaving. After this she fell asleep with the blanket over her head, hiding from the Blue Tarantula.

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT #1 (I make a point of not looking at the clock when she wakes me up so I don't have any sense of how many hours I have before morning; otherwise I often have trouble falling back asleep. Hence the vague time-heading.)

JULIA: (coming into the bedroom) Mommy?
ME: What is it, Julia?
JULIA: I'm still scared.
ME: Well, you need to go back to sleep.
JULIA: But I want to sleep in your bed with you.
ME: No, you need to sleep in your own bed. Do you need to pee?
JULIA: No. I peed already.
ME: Let me walk you back to your room.

Thus began the clutching and pleading again in her bedroom, but I told her she needed to go to sleep and left.

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT #2:
JULIA: (coming into the bedroom) Mommy?
ME: What is it, Julia?
JULIA: I wet the bed.
ME: Okay, go sit on the potty to see if you have any more pee, and I'll change your sheets. Did you get any pee on your sheets or did you wake up as soon as you felt it coming out?
JULIA: Um, there's a wet spot in my bed.
ME: Going into Julia's room, failing to really find any pee in the bed, but changing the sheets anyway.
JULIA: Coming in after using the potty.
ME: Okay, take off your jammies and undies and get some clean ones.
JULIA: No, but I don't want to take them off! They're not wet!
ME: You just told me you wet your bed.
JULIA: But they're not wet!
ME: Why don't you just get new ones to be on the safe side?
JULIA: Okay. (Changes, gets back in bed, pleads for me to stay, but I go.)

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT #3
JULIA: Calling me from her room.
ME: Julia, you need to go to sleep.
JULIA: But Mommy, I can't fall asleep.
ME: Well, then you can sit here quietly until you get to sleep.

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT #4
JULIA: MAMAAAAA!!!!! MAMAAAAAAA!
ETHAN: (going in to her room) Julia! You need to STOP yelling and STOP waking us up!
JULIA: But I need to pee.
ETHAN: Then get up and go, and stop yelling for us. I don't want to hear from you again! Go pee, and then get back in your room and DO NOT come out again.

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT #5
JULIA: Sobbing loudly from the bedroom
ETHAN: (going in) JULIA! BE QUIET, AND GO TO SLEEP NOW!
JULIA: Silence until she woke up in the morning.

1pm today:
JULIA: (prancing over to me holding the Max & Ruby DVD) Mama, can I watch this?

(And in case you are wondering, my answer was "NO WAY, Jose!")