Do any of you experience this as well-emotional intensity just before waking from "hibernation"?
Yes!
Add to the list sleep disturbances, like napping for 4 (!) hours or being wide awake until midnight (obviously not uncorrelated). DS-almost 3 is on a cognitive spurt these past two weeks. I've seen his natural waking time slip back from 8:30am to 10:30am and his nap stretch to 3, even 4 hours. I just run with it.
GGG- my younger son is not introverted. He just won't perform unless he wants.
DS behaves similarly. He won't often sit and read to me, but he'll write out words with his magnetic letters to leave me "secret codes".
