For some reason, on September 21st at 6AM, Julia belted out a terrifying cry from her crib, jolting me out of bed. I jumped out of bed and ran to her room, already trying to strategize a possible trip to the emergency room without Nataliya around to assist.
Turning on the lights, I found Julia lying awake, eyes wide open and no obvious signs of injury. I picked her up and gently stroked her hair back to comfort and look for any new bumps, I asked her to show me the boo-boo. For some reason, she didn't answer. Hoping I was just asking the wrong question, I asked "What's wrong, honey?"
"Train chasing me!"
It was just a nightmare! I tried to get her to elaborate. "Where's the train, Julia?"
Pointing to the wall beside her crib, she said, "Over there!"
Still holding her, I turned so that she faced the wall, and taking a line from Go Away, Big Green Monster!, told her to say "Go away train, and don't come back until I say so!" As goofy as it sounds, it seemed to immediately calm her down.
Within five minutes, the memories of her nightmare seemed to fade away and she was back to her ol' self. Hopefully the dream is just her way of dealing with a real-life stress and not a fear of trains. I guess we'll find out when we take her to the Holiday Train Show at the NY Botanical Gardens later this year!
Turning on the lights, I found Julia lying awake, eyes wide open and no obvious signs of injury. I picked her up and gently stroked her hair back to comfort and look for any new bumps, I asked her to show me the boo-boo. For some reason, she didn't answer. Hoping I was just asking the wrong question, I asked "What's wrong, honey?"
"Train chasing me!"
It was just a nightmare! I tried to get her to elaborate. "Where's the train, Julia?"
Pointing to the wall beside her crib, she said, "Over there!"
Still holding her, I turned so that she faced the wall, and taking a line from Go Away, Big Green Monster!, told her to say "Go away train, and don't come back until I say so!" As goofy as it sounds, it seemed to immediately calm her down.
Within five minutes, the memories of her nightmare seemed to fade away and she was back to her ol' self. Hopefully the dream is just her way of dealing with a real-life stress and not a fear of trains. I guess we'll find out when we take her to the Holiday Train Show at the NY Botanical Gardens later this year!
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