Bedtime Routine

Tonight we were having our usual battle with Seth at bedtime. He gets put to bed and he cries and screams over and over and over. I went up to read Sakura a story and heard him wailing, so I opened his door and invited him to join me and Sakura for a story or two. By the end of story one, he decided to make a break for it and ran downstairs. I chased him and put him back in bed where he proceeded to cry at the top of his lungs. After reading a second story to Sakura, I tucked her in and went to take care of Seth. I tried one more time to be nice about putting him to bed, and he tried to get out, beating on the door in anger and tears as I shut it. I gave him a few minutes to calm himself down and go to sleep, but he was persistant, so I opened his door and told him that if he didn't lay down, I would take away his special blankets. Then I tucked him in again and left. Again he beat on the door, screaming, so I went in and took his blankets and put them on the highest (that I can reach) shelf in the hall closet and put him back to bed. Of course he shrieked and threw himself on the floor and beat at the door. I gave him a few minutes and went back in, gave him his blankets and tried to put him to bed peacefully. You guessed it - didn't work. This went on for a while until one time, after giving him back his blankets and tucking him in to bed, I didn't move quite as fast to the door and Seth popped out of bed and ran to ME. He didn't want to get out. He didn't want his blankets to snuggle with most of all. He wanted ME. After all I had done to make him upset, still he wanted ME. Awestruck, I held my little boy in my arms until his tears stopped, his sobbing quieted, and his breaths slowed and deepened. Finally sleeping, I held him a little while longer before I finally laid him on his pillow with his blankets around him, kissed him and bid him goodnight. There was no screaming when I closed the door, no beating against it - only silence. He was peacefully, contenedly asleep. I don't understand him a lot of the time, but I sure am grateful for my little Seth.