Bruxism

I have been disturbed by the gnashing of teeth in the middle of night. Hearing Christian's teeth grinding is one of the most uncomfortable sounds on earth, on par with the sound of fingernails scratching a blackboard.

P heard it one night and we gripped each other's hands tightly..oh dear.. he has inherited our bad habit!

I read up on bruxism, and it confirmed most of my suspicions -
(i) it can be triggered by emotional stress, such as the arrival of a new sibling;
(ii) there's nothing much we can do about it other than talk to the child, and try to help him relax before bedtime.

Sigh. I did realise that it never happened, not until after Calista's birth. :( Feel so guilty...there is another way to help him.. by wearing a teeth / mouth guard but he is highly likely to resist it strongly. Anyway, this has cemented my resolve to move him back to my room even on weekday nights. Hopefully he'll feel more reassured and comforted sleeping with us.

[he wanted me to pat him to sleep last night but the bb demanded milk at the very same instant, so P offered my t-shirt which was lying around and asked him to hang on to it instead. Ch smelled it like a heroine addict, and said "Mmmm smells very nice." and took a few more sniffs. I laughed, though P worried that this is not healthy. I pointed out that I used to like smelling my mum's pjs too.. and I remember a friend of mine bringing her mum's clothes with her to camp even in primary school. Hahaha.]