No, my kid isn't rabid (here she's eating cottage cheese), but the way she acts at nighttime, one would think she was either possessed or rabid. My delightful-child-by-day becomes very stubborn at night. In fact, I half expect her head to start spinning 360 degrees.Last night, after exhausting all means that I thought possible, she finally cried herself to sleep, which took awhile. I made sure she was alright, but it took her a long time to calm down, hence her sleeping in a bit this morning.
I tried sleeping in her room last night on one of those blow-up matress thingies (which seemed very comfortable), but to my surprise, my presence caused a shrill howl because in her view, it's either momma's arms or the highway.
I even had these lullabies playing in a CD, but they only soothed her -- you got it -- when she was in my arms.
And as she was crying, I started wondering, "Am I doing the right thing?" Should she be attached to me in a super-glue kind of fashion? And will she show up on the Jerry Springer show someday in a "Who's-Your-Momma-and-Why-Did-She-Suck Episode"?
But then the rational part of me -- or what was left of it -- took over. I realized that she needed to learn to self-soothe and to be more autonomous. That as a parent, I am also a teacher, and she needs to learn that while mom loves her deeply and is meeting her needs, Ari must to learn that she cannot cling 24/7 to her mother, and that bedtime is a time when she needs to sort things out.
I know that I have to get these bedtime snafus worked out before we appear on a Supernanny episode. I am patient and feel that this is just a parent-child bump in the road of life -- and there will be many more to come.
Beth L. Gainer is a professional writer and has published numerous academic and magazine articles, as well as an essay on her breast cancer experience in the anthology Voices of Breast Cancer by LaChance Publishing. She writes about medical advocacy at www.bethlgainer.blogspot.com, and her cat Hemi blogs at www.catterchatter.blogspot.com. Beth teaches writing and literature at Robert Morris University in the Chicago area. She can be contacted at bethlgainer@gmail.com and gainercallingtheshots@gmail.com. She also blogs on the adventures of her cats, Hemi and Cosette, at http://www.catterchatter.blogspot.com./.
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You're almost there ... it was about this time in our early days that my older thrashed and carried on, including slamming her chin on the corner of my bed, leaving an ugly bruise everyone asked me about--anything but sleep. And then one day, about a week later, she took her nap in her own room, while I read in the next ... and a few week later was willing to sleep there, too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't push either of mine ... and let them sleep in my room or with me when they wanted ... even as recently as last year.. but 95% of the time they were in their own room, starting 2-3 months into being home.
But there's a point where you think the sleeping problems will never go away ... and then one day you realize they (mostly) have.
Karen
Yep, sleep can be a rough on. One great resource is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." I lived by that book when Alex was born.
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