Monday, April 25, 2011

Life Lately

Things have evened out a little lately.  There was a time (right around when I stopped blogging here for a while) that I thought I was going to go insane.  My son was throwing tantrums and I felt like I had a two year old, but worse because he was only 9 months old.  But I decided that I want to be a calm mother.  I want my son (and any future children for that matter) to remember me as calm in the face of pressure and high stress situations.  To be honest I can't manage that on my own.  I don't have the ability to be calm in these moments, but I have decided to let my hope in God pave the way for me.  And it has worked.  Since those moments 2 weeks ago I have been able to stay so calm my husband has been perplexed with me.  And, in turn, I think my son is enjoying life a little more too.  We find ways to enjoy each other, even in the midst of teething. 

Our new challenge lately has been a vacation that brought change and fighting sleep again.  Recently our family took a little vacation to Monterey.  It was so much fun, and he loved the beach.  However, it threw off his sleep BIG time.  Before we went he was doing great with naps.  I was leaving him in his crib for at least an hour and he was able to stay asleep for at least an hour.  But that all changed when we were away.  He hated going down for naps and even going to bed.  We were sharing the house with our family and I didn't want to disturb them so I gave him a pacifier at night to help him sleep.  This has transferred to an hour of screaming each night in protest because he wants his binky back now that we are home.  But I don't want to have to fight him about this in a year or so when we take the binky away completely.  So I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the long run. 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I Jinxed It!

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted that we were having napping success?  Remember how I hoped that I wouldn't jinx that success by celebrating with a blot post? 

Well.... I jinxed it!

We have gone back to square one, and I'm wondering if any form of nap training is ever going to work with my son.  He IS a very strong willed child you know?  

I asked his pediatrician about this today and he said to follow his schedule.  If he is acting tired before he has had a waketime I thought appropriate then put him down when the baby says so.  It is his body after all, he knows when he's tired better than me.  So today I did just that.  I put him down an hour and a half after he woke in the morning, and he slept for over and hour.  I put him down 2 and a half hours after he woke from the first nap, and he is reaching the hour mark in his crib currently.  I may drive myself crazy thinking about naps, but we will be successful eventually.....RIGHT?!?!?!

Now let's make sure this blog doesn't jinx this success.