The Exorcism, as performed by my daughter

Here’s the thing about kids: They mess with you. Just when you’re settling into a nice, regular, happy routine, they bust out something crazy to throw your world off kilter.
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Here is my exquisitely adorable daughter, Adeline. She is 19-months-old and sleeps like a champ. She gives us hugs and kisses goodnight, we place her in her crib, she cozies up into her elephant pillow-pet and a blanket and is out.

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That is, until this week, when she abruptly decided to throw some crazy-ass bedtime behavior our way.
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Sunday night, Addy went to bed peacefully, as normal. Forty-five minutes later, she woke up making strange, whimpering cries that escalated into full-blown screams. Joey and I raced to her room and found her thrashing about in her crib, arms and legs flailing, as she continued to scream and grunt. We picked her up, trying to soothe and calm her, we tried reading her favorite books and playing with favorite toys to snap her out of it, but it was like we didn’t exist – she continued writhing in our arms and pointing to her crib. When we set her back down, the screams continued and she began throwing her body around her crib. Joey and I were absolutely terrified. I wondered if she was having some kind of seizure or if she was in pain. But then gradually, her shrieks began subsiding and her thrashing limbs settled down. She finally was able to look at us and say “Mommy” and “Daddy.” And then she drifted back to sleep. The whole event took 20 minutes.
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I called the pediatrician in a panic the next morning and they instantly had an answer. Night terrors. It’s relatively common in young kids and is similar to sleep walking, but can be much more violent. They said Addy was in a half-dream, half-wake state and probably was not aware that we were ever holding her or comforting her. They said all a parent can do is wait for the episode to pass, that it wasn’t anything to worry about and that it was a phase. I was relieved that it wasn’t anything more serious, but dreaded ever having to experience it again.
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Several nights passed, and Adeline slept like a dream. Then Thursday morning rolled around, and Joey went into her room to wake her and get her ready to go. He entered her room and instantly yelled for me. Panic, again, jumped to my heart. I knew what was wrong before I entered the room, because the smell was wafting down the hall. There was my baby girl, smiling up at us in her crib, covered in puke, as were her jammies and blankets. That morning, before we got out the door for work, we did a load of laundry and Addy got a bath. She had a low-grade fever, but was her normal, happy self all day.
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So, it’s been a really interesting week at our house. One where we’re reminded that peaceful nights can be interrupted at any second, and daily routines are adjusted everyday. And that sometimes your cute, darling daughter can behave in a way that makes you contemplate calling in a well-intentioned Catholic priest.

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