Fast forward from December to now. With a lot of help from other parents' tips at Children's Playroom, trusting our own instincts, and hanging in there through lots of trial and error and thinking really hard about what works for our own unique kid, we now look forward to our precious, short and sweet bedtime routine again. Susanna sometimes even says after lights out, "You can go now!" I would have cried tears of joy if you told me that was coming earlier in the new year. I also never believed this kid would stay in her room without having to lock her in. It sounds really inhumane until you lose enough sleep and patience.
It did take a baby gate and some tantrums, but now neither seem to be needed anymore for everyone to get what they need. Our major turning point was a nifty little picture chart of our bedtime routine crafted by yours truly and enforced by Daddy. Teamwork!
The best part of all is the mornings. Susanna is sleeping till between 6:40-7:20, then coming to join me in bed. Once there, she cuddles with me for however long till we decide to get up and start our day (on the days work doesn't decide for us). She puts her hands on my face and strokes my hair saying "I love you, Mommy. You're so pretty. You're so beautiful." Seriously. It. is. the. best.
What the parenting journey has taught me thus far is that this, too, will be one short little blip in our memories of raising precious little ones. If I don't write it down, I might even forget, hard as it may seem to believe. I know in a few months I'll be crying in the wee hours right along with my newborn again, and maybe with my three year old, too, wondering how we got all of ourselves into this mess. But slowly and surely, we will find our way through the next challenge. Each time, I have a little more faith in us.
Stay tuned for our next installment: "I don't need a nap! I'm not tired!" See photo above.
3 comments:
Beautifully said!
Kelly, it makes me smile to read this. I feel like, as parents, we really should give ourselves more pats on the back when moving through the difficult stages with our kids. Of course, the hardest part is not knowing ahead of time how long a particular stage will last. Be it sweet and amazing, or dreadful and soul-sucking it always feels like it will be a permanent part of their personalities until they've moved past it and on to something else. It's fun to read that Suzanna and Avery are fighting some of the same battles...makes me feel hope for the future too! Avery moved into our bed with this last round of molars coming in and seems to be the only person comfortable there. I have to remind myself that her brother started sleeping through the night at 3 and has never come back. These uncomfortable nights of snuggling are numbered and there will be plenty of time to sleep when we're older and our kids don't need us anymore.
LOL at Avery being the only person comfortable in the bed :) I know exactly what you mean!
Right now I am trying to embrace the sight of toys and my shoes strewn in every corner of the house becaue some day I know there may be no signs of little children in the house!
You're right about not knowing how long a hard part will last...or whether the improvement is "permanent"...I'm hoping at least each time I have a little more faith and less fear.
It is a pretty amazing job, though, to help them learn to cope and grow. We have a lot to be proud of!
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