Resume Play
Right as I was clicking the Save button on the Time Out post last night, Austen said the magic word. I went in and got him, and we sat together in the chair for a few minutes talking about what happened. I wanted to make sure he understood the reason for the time out, though who knows what actually sunk in on that front.
He'd been unsuccessful at vomiting, try as he might, but he'd filled his diaper with the biggest poop I've ever seen, so I took him downstairs, changed him, and then put him in his high chair for dinner. He melted down twice in the space of 5 minutes—once when I went to wash my hands after the diaper change, and again when I strapped him into the chair. I ended up getting him out when he wouldn't stop screaming and refused to eat, and we sat together for a little while on the stairs. Finally, he leaned in for not one, not two, but 6 "sorry" kisses in a row. There was a little murmuring back and forth about being nice and showing love, and then we moved back to the dining room. He ate a full dinner of watermelon, corn, and Trader Joe's asparagus-asiago cheese chicken sausage while sitting on my lap.
After dinner we had an uneventful bathtime, followed by the usual Sesame Street->kiss Daddy->go up to bed routine. He requested songs with "ummmm...", but he vetoed every one I tried, even the old standards, and conked out after about 5 minutes. He slept soundly until almost 7am, and gave me my usual morning snuggle. Hopefully we've reset now, and there will be no more hitting tonight.