Or, shall I call this, "The dance of the toddler"?
Yeah, I was all proud yesterday, but let me be honest. I chose to not mention the fact that Owyn has learned and is working my system.
I am a subscriber to the Supernanny school of thought. I really like her techniques. So, it was decided as soon as we got this toddler bed, that our strategy would follow Supernanny's teachings. The first time Owyn gets up, she is picked up and hugged, snuggled a little, then placed back in bed and told, "It's bedtime, sweetie. It's time to go to sleep. Good night."
The second time she gets up, she is picked up, placed back in bed and told "Bedtime. Good night."
Every time she gets up after that, she is put back into bad without any words spoken (by the parents).
Well, apparently, Owyn studies Supernanny as well. She is now very much in the habit of getting up at least 3 times. The first time she walks into my office (which is right next door to her room), smiles and holds up her hands, throwing herself into a tight cuddle as soon as I pick her up.
The second time she gets up, she walks into my office with her hands held high, once again hugging tightly.
The third time, she walks into my office with her hands outstretched, but turns around and heads back to her bed as soon as I stand up, waiting beside her bed to be picked up and cuddled.
So, do you see the pattern I did? I believe she is just using me for the cuddle. I have decided to give it to her the first two times, but after that my technique is to now have her walk back to her bed on her own and climb back in on her own.
She doesn't like that too much, which I guess means it's working.
Anyway, I know this is a strange thing post when writing about happiness. It has been somewhat frustrating, especially tonight after we did our little dance for, no kidding, an hour and a half. But, I wanted to use it as an exercise for myself to find joy in one of motherhood's more difficult times.
So:
1. I am happy she is so smart.
2. I am happy she wants to give me hugs.
3. I love how sweet she smells.
4. I am happy she is a problem-solver (today we learned that standing on stools helps gain access to lots of different things!)
5. I am happy she wants to look at and talk to Lily.
6. I am happy Lily didn't wake up.
7. I am happy I made banana bread today (I earned those two (or three or four) slices!)
8. I am happy Owyn is asleep now. She still looks like an angel when she is asleep.
today, I blog!
12 years ago
2 comments:
ooh, that's a toughy. Dylann used to come out for cuddles, then she caught on that we would just put her back in bed, so then she would just wander around upstairs alone by herself. I'd find her getting into my shoes in the dark. One night, we thought she had FINALLY given up, and when we went to bed, we found her sacked out at the top of the stairs with all her blankets and pillows. We stopped being nice about putting her back in bed. We'd just frown and say, "no, it's bedtime." No kisses, no cuddles. Just back to bed. But it sounds to me like you're getting the message across, and soon this experience will be all but a happy memory! Love you!
What fun. It is so sweet when they finally get it. My problem now is that they all share rooms that they sit on their beds and chat.
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