I am still waiting for a full night's sleep as well. Fuss has this habit of throwing his binki out of his crib as he falls asleep. The problem with this is that when he tosses and turns in the night, if he wakes up even the slightest bit, he starts to cry because he can't find his binki. And since I have those super-mom powers that wake me from even the deepest sleep or most involved dream at the slightest little whimper, when this happens I lie in my bed and silently hope that he will find the binki in his bed. Inevitably, I always get up, go to his room, get down on my hands and knees, and search for the binki. If I remember, I actually put an extra binki on D's dresser before I go to bed so that I don't have to search in the middle of the night. Last night this was the routine. This morning, I was up early writing for my part-time job when I heard a second round of whimpering coming from Fuss' room. Knowing that I had work to do, and that I can't do it with Fuss up and about, I went into his room, crawled around his bed until I found the binki. Thinking it was time to get up (it was 6:30 am, which is what time he typically wakes up), he reached for me to hold him. I rubbed his back, and told him that it was still dark and that meant it was still "nite nite time." Happily, he lied down and went back to sleep, at least for another 30 minutes! Oh, the trickery that as parents we sometimes have to use.
Here is the thing, my son already seems to understand manipulation. What Fuss wants, Fuss gets--he makes sure of it! If he wants to get into a room, he throws a fit until he figures out how. If he wants something to eat, he will stand at the pantry or fridge until I pick the right thing. If I pour him milk instead of juice, he lets me know he isn't happy about it. And Fuss is very jealous of my computer. I can understand it some; I use the computer for my job, my studying, my blog, to check the news, read the obituaries (yes, I read the obituaries because I find other people's lives fascinating) and although most of this is done while he is sleeping, he doesn't like it when I am on the computer and he is awake! Just moments ago my toddler climbed on my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. He hugged me so tight that of course I put computer on the floor next to me. As soon as I had done so, he let go of me and ran off to play...that is my life now...everything revolves around Fuss, and I am thinking that maybe I need a new boss.
2 comments:
Two words....tough love! : ) Manipulation is the key. Switch it up so you are the one with the power as far as the binki thing goes. Once he tosses it, it's gone. You'll suffer through a few nights of hell as he cries for the binki and curses you in baby talk for not bringing it to him, but it will soon click in his baby brain that he has lost the battle. I read in a book somewhere that babies can actually train themselves to wake up at certain times during the night JUST to get someone to come into the room. Do they really, truly need help? No, they get you out of bed and into their room simply because they can.....Be strong!!
Oh how I enjoyed this post! I have the same situation with the binki thing and it was nice to read about someone else going through what I am. Now I don't feel like I am the only one doing this as a parent.
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