Meltdown Disruptions

Image by ibtrav via Flickr Well, it has been a really rough week.. wait I meant month but I think today was the worst day all month. Chipmunk isn't feeling well, her belly hurt all day. I made her a warm bath and told her to relax for a little while and see if she felt any better.

I was talking to her for a little while when Chucky,started screaming my name. Which seems to have never ended since he woke up. I tried to ask him what he wanted he just kept screaming Jocelyn. So, I let him go into the bathroom but told him he had to stand near the door because his sister needed privacy. I figured this way he could speak to her and get what he needed. That didn't happen. This led to a screaming child in the bathroom with sick daughter in the tub. Did I mention that the bathroom echoes so we     hear this rant twice. Boy am I lucky.

 I asked him what he needed and got screamed at some more. Being as there was no consoling him, and he was winding up and flailing I decided to remove him from the bathroom. Did I mention there was a sick child in the tub? Well, removing him was not an easy task. AT ALL!!! He grabbed onto the door, shoved it closed almost catching my fingers and was kicking me. I really couldn't calm him down and he over powering me. It is at times like this that I feel completely helpless. I was overwhelmed and exhausted. We were only 10 minutes into this meltdown. I asked my daughter to ask a friend to help. I only got him to the hallway, which isn't that far, and he threw himself down on the floor. Then it got really bad. I know how much worse can it get? Trust me a lot!!

He continued to scream and I sat on the floor trying to calm him. BAD idea. Actually I should have stayed as far away from him as I could. As I sat down I saw an angry ranting child and I think his eyes were red at the time, shoving the back of his head into my mouth. I bit my damn lip. Ouch!!  Oh, let me remind you again, There is a sick child in the tub!!! Unfortunately I was not with her and she is staying there. Hey, think about it... at least if she pukes, which we all know I can't handle, it's an easy clean up!!  After all the head butts, I decided to ask him how he was feeling. Some crazy person actually suggested trying to get your child to recognize their feelings when they are in this state. It is supposed to help them calm down. Ummm.... word of advice...IT DIDN'T WORK!!

This made him worse. He slapped him in the face 4 times and was kicking the shit out of me. I was stumped. Anytime I spoke to him it got worse but after hit three, I grabbed his arms. Then I said hitting is not ok. Charlie is feeling very angry. He was possessed, really. Have you ever seen The Exorcism of Emily Rose? That was what my son looked like. Just to clarify, he is a sweet boy and I love him so much, but he was seriously off the wall!! I could not calm him. I tried showing him what he could do when he was angry. Then as I sat helplessly in the hallway with my possesed son, I thought about what I could do to reach him. It was at that moment that I noticed a metal popcorn tin. Hmm... Drumming, hitting.... this might work. My friend is a musician so, he started drumming on the tin and singing a bit as well. My son was still screaming but after a minute he seemed to calm. It was enough to talk to him. Wow, there is an end to this!

He calmed enough during the drumming that we could take him into our roommates room where there was a full drumset. He was in there for almost an hour drumming away. It really did calm him. I asked him what he needed from his sister and he told me!! He just couldn't verbalize his needs at the time. He was frustrated. He needed an outlet!! So, I guess we should all own a drum set?? I can't afford one but, it worked this time. That was not the end, it did happen again later on in the day actually, my whole day was filled with meltdowns. The final one, I just gave in. He wanted his sister and he was worried about her. I think this was part of his anxiety and he didn't know how to cope with it.