Marvelous Melatonin

I hate temper tantrums. Hate, hate, hate them. They drive me absolutely nuts. And Elliott is the Queen of Tantrums. Girlfriend can whip herself into a frenzy in seconds. She can go from being completely at ease, to being completely uncontrollable. She screams, stomps, throws herself to the floor, turns herself purple, kicks, spits...it's enough to make me want to sell her on eBay.

The majority of Elliott's tantrums happen at bedtime. Which makes everyone miserable. Her brother and sister can't sleep because she's screaming at the top of her lungs. Jon and I can't relax, because she's screaming at the top of her lungs. And because she's screaming at the top of her lungs? She's not sleeping. And when she gets up in the morning after a piss poor night's sleep, she's miserable. And the tantrums pick right back up where they left off the night before. And because she's screaming at the top of her lungs at the breakfast table? She's not eating. Which is causing her to have what Jon calls "hunger anger." It's just awful.

I've discussed Elliott's ridonkulous behavior with her pediatrician, and Dr. Y's reaction is "meh...it's a stage....she'll get over it...YOU'LL get over it..." Which is all good and wonderful - except that I have to live with her screaming ass. And she's unpleasant.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to the husband of a friend, and he mentioned that one of their kiddos was a lot like Elliott. To curb her behavior, they give her melatonin. And it worked really, really well. She was sleeping better, and life was just better.

When I got home, I did a little research. And then I forgot about it when Elliott threw another monster tantrum. Until last Thursday. When Elliott threw 8 (EIGHT) separate tantrums is less than 2 hours. OMFG. It was terrible. Something as simple as flushing the toilet set her off so completely that she was puking. I drove myself to the grocery store and bought a bottle of 1mg melatonin tablets. That night we gave her half of a tablet.

When she woke up after 11.5 hours of sleep, she was a completely different child. In the last 5 days, there hasn't been a single, solitary tantrum!! She's sleeping for at least 11 hours a night (last night was 12). She's eating better, and she's able to concentrate on whatever task it at hand. Her behavior and participation at school are better. And life...is quiet. And me likey quiet!!