Cookies and Bed Bouncing

This was the sight I saw when I went to check up on Alanna today.  Ever since she got her new toddler bed, she is obsessed with her room and often goes up there, closes the door, and proceeds to self-stimulate herself into a tizzy (don't get me wrong, she is happy as a clam when she is doing this.)  I let her do this today because hey, after six hours of therapy I figured she deserved a break.  Usually there is much bed bouncing, tossing of books, tossing of small benches, and occasional spinning of her lampshade.  The closing of the door is not optional by the way - she becomes very upset if she cannot close the door.  It is kind of cute but I suppose we should break the obsession.

In any case, Alanna knows cookies when she sees them.  Apparently these were placed a little too low on her shelf after her final ABA therapy session today and she figured she would help herself.  I can't blame the kid.

Transitioning to a bed from a crib has been... interesting.  The first night, she slept well in it and was thrilled to have it - there was absolutely no protest over the change whatsoever (this due to the fact that beds bounce better than cribs and this is her favourite stim.)  The second night she fell out of the bed and woke up quite distraught.  To fix this problem, Becca and I ordered a foam barrier and put a foam mattress next to her bed.

Well, unfortunately for us, Alanna figured out that if she could fall out of her bed, then she could certainly get out on her own (this thought did not occur to her the first night).  So most nights now consist of bed bouncing and screaming until the melatonin kicks in... followed by more bouncing and screaming at 1 or 2am, followed by more melatonin.  We never really know how long she stays up.  It's dark in her room so she must move around a ton to make it fun.  Most of the time we find her curled up on her $15 foam mattress while her $150 bed is used as a trampoline.  I am proud of our investment. 

Most mornings when she is up the night before, she is dead to the world until 9am, but therapy often starts as 8 or 8:30am.  I guess with the summer we should try to bump therapy to the end of the day and let the girl sleep!