nightmares

Bodhi had a rough night last night. Molars. He was awake, and upset a lot, able now to express his pain in ows and requests for remedies. His dad was half grumpy, half sympathetic. I don't really know what to do with his aggressive responses to his children's expression of pain...

This morning, Bodhi told us about a dream he'd had, where there was a 'caterpillar on mine head'. Sometimes it was ladybird. He wouldn't say any more about it, but he told us again and again. And again. In mine hair.

Tonight, tired, at time to go to sleep, he was just about to snuggle down, when he stopped, and turned to me and asked 'caterpillar coming back?'
I asked him if he was worried about having the dream again, and he nodded, vehemently. I asked him if it had been a bad dream, if he had been scared. He stopped, and stared at me, eyes huge and round. His face reddened, gaze intensifying, his lip started to shake and crumple and he started to cry and nod.

So I took him on my lap, cuddled him against me, and told him about lucid dreaming, baby style. Happier dreams of driving to the zoo in a red car, and feeding the caterpillar to the monkeys, if it came back. Monkeys will chomp it. Mama and Daddy will throw it away.

It still took him ages to fall asleep. Crap. Two years old and plagued by a scary dream, scared to sleep in case it returns. It doesn't seem right somehow. This is parenting. It's like their dreams are your responsibility now. How can I guard his sleep?