Time to Go to Bed and Stay There!

Another interesting few days.  Seems they are always interesting when dealing with Mom, four children and five grandchildren!

Although holidays can be a trying time for those with dementia, I think we managed to get Mom through it.  She had a great time seeing her family and seemed to enjoy spending time with my in-laws.  She loves the babies!  I think the highlight of her time with my in-laws was watching our little grandniece play.  She was absolutely adorable and never failed to give Mom a huge smile.

One issue we ran into had to do with the opening of presents.  After our Christmas, Mom looked at Steve and said, “Did you tell them it’s my birthday?”  Steve explained that it wasn’t her birthday and she got quite testy.  We realized later that she probably said that because we didn’t make sure she had something to open.  My mother-in-law, always thoughtful, was kind enough to have a present for her there and we heard no more about it.  Looking back, I wish I would have done something but as we all know, hindsight is 20/20.

The last two mornings have been a true test of the nightlight in her bedside lamp.  We also put a timer on her big lamp so that she can only turn it on between 6:30 am and 10:00 pm.  She hasn’t slept in by any means but Monday she dressed after 6:30 and today she dressed after 6:00.  She didn’t mention the light not working until I took her in her room later for some daily care and turned on the light.  At the time I just told her it was working and went on.  At some point I’ll have to tell her that if the light isn’t on, she shouldn’t get up.  That should be fun!

Mom will quite often tell me that “I just need to quit talking” or that “I need to go to bed and just stay there.”  My response is usually, “You keep telling me that but I’ll believe it when I see it.”  I know someday we’ll get to that point but for now, I continue to hear a lot of harrumphing if I don’t keep her busy enough.  So, I’ve been trying to get her out each day, even if the weather is cold. 

Today I had the chance to turn the tables on her.  We went to the grocery store and parked in a handicapped spot so we were close.  I picked out one of the smaller carts for our trip and when we got inside, she asked me when I was going to put her in.  I said, “In what?”  She looked at the cart and said, “I thought you knew I wanted…”  I asked her why she needed a chair and she replied, “So I’m not on my feet.”  I told her if she couldn’t walk around inside the store then I needed to take her home and put her to bed for good.  Her response, “Well I’m not ready for that yet!”