New Mask

Pros.

• It has a good seal.
• No pressure in bad places.
• It seems quieter than the others.
• Very quick release catch for when she's being sick.

Cons.

• She hates it.
• It fills her tummy with air.
• It makes her sick.
• Condensation from the humidifier means she can't see out.
• She can't suck her thumb.
• Her shouting is muffled so I can't always hear her calling for me.*
• She hates it.

It's been a week now. Screaming (muffled), retching, begging and pleading, holding my nightie hostage so I have to come and take the mask off when I go to bed myself. We've tried the "wear it until I go to bed and then I'll take it off" and the "Go to sleep without it and I'll put it on when I go to bed" and the "JUST WEAR IT AND BE QUIET AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT BEING SICK" option (surprisingly effective but not to be recommended I think). Last night I went out. Huge upset as I was going, so I took her mask off and told her I'd put it back when I came back. Four hours later, as I walked through the front door, she called out to me. And, instead of the peaceful sleep the sitter (and I) had assumed she was having, she had bundled herself face down into the far corner of the bed, burrowing under the bed sides and nearly suffocating herself (as well as pulling out sundry other overnight bits of tubing) in her panicked attempts to avoid wearing the mask. I gave her the night off, and big silent tears rolled down her face as she clamped down firmly on her thumb once more and settled into a nervous and disturbed sleep.

So, tonight I decided we'd give it a go, but give up at the first vomit or scream. Mild battles at bedtime are one thing, but having a child afraid to go to sleep is another entirely. And I put it on, and she told me she was going to be sick, and then decided she just had tummy bubbles, so I vented her. And ten minutes later I vented her again, and we counted all the things I need to do before I go to bed myself. She selected a mildly squishy toy to cuddle up to to compensate for the thumb. And then she went to sleep. Wearing the mask, with no more argument.

It may, of course, have had something to do with the fact she lost a tooth this afternoon. And "Mummy, when I am asleep will you be the tooth fairy for me please?" She does have a couple more wobbly ones, but I don't think knocking a tooth out every day is necessarily the way forwards.

Tia

*Actually, this one could be a pro.