Anyone have any great advice or suggestions (ie reading material, esp a book age appropriate to read to my son) on helping a 3.5 yo deal with multiple changes in a short period of time?
My son lost his paternal grandmother end of April (unexpectedly), "graduated" from speech therapy about a month and a half ago (a very good thing, but he adored having the SLP come and "play" with him), his favorite much older cousin, Brian, just left for Seattle to go to school, and we are moving out of our house (and neighborhood wher he has friends).
My Dh and I have made a true concerted effort to keep the move especially positive - frame it as an adventure! But my son is very perceptive and picks up easily on stress and negativity...he knows that "grandma is gone far away" without being told as much, and I know he misses his SLP and his cousin. I really would like to find a book or several that we could read together about change, moving, etc that explores feelings.
He has developed a nightime cough over the last month or so that is leaving all of us sleep deprived (we cosleep). It happens most often between 2 -4 am which in chinese medicine relates to lungs and also to grief, sorrow, tears. He is seeing a chiropractor/cranio sacral therapist and a doctor of chinese medicine. After treatment yesterday, he woke up like a train wreck (after coughing intermittently from 2 - 5 am) crying so hard that he wet the bed, and "needing" his Dad (at work) and his cousin Brian, and repeating over and over that the "car that he is working on" is "all broken down" and "in little pieces" (He loves to make up stories about cars etc that he is building). My heart was breaking for him, and all I could do was reassure him that we are all in thin together and that we can find new parts for his broken down car, and the like.
Anyone else been through this? How can I better help him cope and heal and start sleeping soundly again?
My son lost his paternal grandmother end of April (unexpectedly), "graduated" from speech therapy about a month and a half ago (a very good thing, but he adored having the SLP come and "play" with him), his favorite much older cousin, Brian, just left for Seattle to go to school, and we are moving out of our house (and neighborhood wher he has friends).
My Dh and I have made a true concerted effort to keep the move especially positive - frame it as an adventure! But my son is very perceptive and picks up easily on stress and negativity...he knows that "grandma is gone far away" without being told as much, and I know he misses his SLP and his cousin. I really would like to find a book or several that we could read together about change, moving, etc that explores feelings.
He has developed a nightime cough over the last month or so that is leaving all of us sleep deprived (we cosleep). It happens most often between 2 -4 am which in chinese medicine relates to lungs and also to grief, sorrow, tears. He is seeing a chiropractor/cranio sacral therapist and a doctor of chinese medicine. After treatment yesterday, he woke up like a train wreck (after coughing intermittently from 2 - 5 am) crying so hard that he wet the bed, and "needing" his Dad (at work) and his cousin Brian, and repeating over and over that the "car that he is working on" is "all broken down" and "in little pieces" (He loves to make up stories about cars etc that he is building). My heart was breaking for him, and all I could do was reassure him that we are all in thin together and that we can find new parts for his broken down car, and the like.
Anyone else been through this? How can I better help him cope and heal and start sleeping soundly again?
