give me a hand

my little tiger has trouble sleeping. from the time he was born he has never slept more than a few hours at a time. day or night. its is difficul for him to fall asleep also. we have tried everything, from crying it out to medication, nothing seems to make a difference. our only hope at this point (he is a year and a half now) is that he, at some point in life, will grow out of it. or at least move away for college, so we can get some sleep.

tonite i was camping out in his room, like always. i was singing a lullaby, he was lying down in his crib. the lights were dimmed and the house quiet. *e* was already asleep, kl at work. animals were snoozing and the tv was off. i finish the song. all is quiet. a second passes. two. maybe he fell asleep. then his head lifts from the pillow. i hold my breath in anticipation. what will follow? will he just turn over and lie back down? will he cry? throw himself over the crib railing to get out? i fear it will be a long nite.

then;

clapping!

tiny hands applauding my lullaby. then he puts his head down, closes his eyes and falls asleep.