Some kids soothe themselves by sucking their thumb or twirling their hair to help them fall asleep.
Some carry around a special blanket.
Ryan has soothed himself by "stroking" from the time he was very young. This is accomplished by sticking his hand just barely inside the collar of my shirt. Oh, and it's not just ME. He does this with both men and women. Women don't like it but most understand. It just really freaks the men out. I've been assured it's left-over from nursing. Apparently it's fairly common. Who knew?
As he's grown, we've tried to eliminate this behavior. But, so far he's just developed some new stroking moves..
For men: the against the grain whisker rub. (This drives Daddy absolutely bonkers).
The vulkan mind meld: He puts one finger the corner of his victim's eye and places his open hand over one side of their face. Aaand just holds it there.
The Stinky foot rub: When he's tired of us yelling at him to stop stroking us with his hands, he sneaks up on us with his stinky feet. Usually he pulls this move when our backs are turned and suddenly there's a foot creeping up the back of our shirts.
And when all else fails and we DRAW THE LINE--NO MORE Stroking Ryan! ........he strokes himself. It get's him to sleep every time.
That is so funny!
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