So, the first night, ZL cried for 45 minutes. Seriously, he looked like a little addict going through withdrawal, thrashing around on his bed. It was pitiful. And I thought of Jackie Pullinger as I prayed over him. Fortunately, sleep came eventually. And when he woke up at 5:30 the next morning and got into bed with us (something he does when we're sleeping in), he went back to sleep quickly. No problem.
Night two: he cried for 5-10 minutes. Yay! Only, when he came into our bed at 4:45, he wouldn't go back to sleep. So, I put him back in his bed. And he came back to ours. And ML put him back in his. And he came back to ours. And I put him back in his. This went on until I finally got up with him at about 7:00. Not fun.
Night three: he cried for 2-3 minutes. Whoopee! And when he came into our room in the middle of the night, I took him straight back to his own bed, and he fell asleep. And slept until we got him up this morning.
Okay, so we seem to have the nighttime part of the routine down. Only one problem: Z hasn't taken a nap since we took the paci away. He just will not give in and go to sleep. It's like he's tired enough at night time to make it through not having the paci, but not at nap time. And he's seriously grumpy as a result. As if his recent obsession with the word "no" wasn't enough.
I'm not ready for him to give up naps. And I really don't think he is either. Here's hoping that he'll regain that skill sans paci.
And, for posterity, some classic Z-with-paci pictures.
A classic ZL picture all around. ZL gets overwhelmed in social settings, and we have allowed him to retreat to a Blue's Clues episode on my iPod when necessary. This particular day was on our vacation a little over a year ago, and it had been a long no-nap day. Lunch was late, so we let him chill while we waited for our food.
At the end of a visit to the Children's Museum. Either after ZL was tired of walking or Mommy and Daddy were tired of chasing him. One or the other.
At Wartburg Castle at the end of our trip to Germany this summer. I thought this particular picture was an appropriate representation of this particular week for Z. He spent a lot of time in the stroller. There were just too, too many people for him to process. And it was his first experience (in his memory) with organized childcare. They ended up parking the stroller, with his pacifier and B in it, at the door of his classroom. He would play with the other children and the teachers until it just became too overwhelming, at which point he would retreat to the stroller until he was ready to "face the world" again. A rather creative solution I thought, both on the part of the teachers and Z himself.
9 comments:
Oh, I have the same stroller as you do....Did you know that you can fit 2 children, 4 backpacks, and all other snacks and carryons on that thing and still steer it through the airport...well, of course you do :) That has been one of the best, pre-move, purchases we have made. It is amazing how many bags we can put on those handles (as long as a child is in the seat). Our's is now covered in mildew though from living in the tropics.
Hope the napping continues to happen ('those were the days')
Oh yeah, totally know that it's capable of that. And it sounds like you've discovered what happens if you let the child get out without unloading the back.
We're on our second one of these strollers. Got the first when JW was a baby, so 7 years ago. Then, re-bought right before I went to the US with all four kids by myself a year and a half ago. I figured I deserved a new stroller. :-P
I have looked and looked, and I really think it's the best stroller for living internationally.
cute baby
I have to admit that the no napping thing is my delay on getting Cutie Pie to give it up. I need her to nap still. And Daddy (who is pushing for the Binky Boot Camp) isn't home for naptime except on weekends. ;-)
Hey, how many days til your here?
Weighlossblogger, thanks! We think so. :-)
GfG, we achieved our first nap yesterday! He was falling asleep at lunch, so we decided he needed one. :-P It was late, so we only let him sleep for an hour, and he was awake longer at bedtime, but he didn't cry, just babbled.
Oh, and did I mention that we chose this week for Operation No More Paci, because ML is off work all week? I'm with you on that one.
Good luck with the continued Operation No More Paci. My kids never took to the paci so I was in luck in that area but they made up for it (and still do) with many other addictions! Arg!
I hear you on the sleep issue, though. My 15 month old still refuses to sleep through the night and Mommy is turning into Frankenmommy...
Just stopped by from SITS and will be back to keep reading!
Oh, this brings back such memories! My dd was very attached to her binky. When she reached age two, I decided it was long enough. I took the scissors to the pacifier - while she wasn't using it, of course - and put it back in its place.
When she asked for it, I showed it to her and said, "Oh, look! It's all cut up! Can you throw it away, please?"
She willingly obeyed and that was the end of it. She never asked for it again. What a blessing!
I hope that ZL continues to make progress!
Thanks so much for the sweet, encouraging note you left on my recent blog. Old photos are definitely a treasure!
Helping Oli give up his binky wasn;t as bad as I thought it would be. It was about a week, maybe less. He DID go back to napping but no, those first days were NOT happy ones. :-)
Post a Comment