Jack and Phones, Part II

OK, I'll admit it: last night I put Jack to bed with a telephone.
It's a long story.

Basically, since Jack was sick last week, he has taken to waking up at either 10:30PM or 4AM (and sometimes both) screaming like a banshee. Or as I have never heard a banshee scream, maybe two cats fighting. I mean, it is bloodcurdling. And when I go up there, he is beyond angry. When I pick him up, he will go stiff and lunge towards the door. If I try to hand him his bear to soothe him, he will throw it away. He will not stop this until I leave the room. Once we are in the hall, he picks up the screaming again and lunges towards the stairs. He wants out. He wants away from his crib.

This had happened for several nights in a row, and generally I was able to calm him down by giving him a bit of water to drink. Last night I remember I had this big idea that enough is enough, I am just going to let him cry.

And then he woke up at 10:30. And I have no cliches to compare it to; he was completely unhinged. I went to get him and brought him downstairs. He took the cup of water (screaming all the while) and threw it on the couch. I tried milk. He did the same thing. He started pointing towards the kitchen.
To cut to the chase, Jack did not pause in his screaming until I handed him the kitchen phone.

And here is the scary thing: once he had a good hold on it, he started screaming again, just as before. His face was inches from the display, bathed in the phone's yellowish-orange glow. He held the phone with two hands and started pressing buttons and screaming and glowing yellowish orange like a carrot-colored madman.

It was completely freaky. He did this crazed button pressing/screaming thing for a good thirty seconds before he brought the intensity down a notch.

And that is when I gave him something to drink. He stayed calm. He eventually looked tired. I picked him up, handed him his bear, and tried to take the phone away from him as I started upstairs. Big mistake.

And that is when I took the battery out of the phone, replaced the battery cover, handed him his bear and his cell phone set him back down in his crib. I didn't hear a peep.

A half hour later I went back in. Jack was curled up, sleeping peacefully, hugging his bear and holding his phone. Evidently he had just been waiting for a call.