Thwarting a Nap Strike

In my previous post I mentioned my hope that little boy would settle back into his napping routine. NOT SO MUCH. So , I have resorted to putting him in his pack-n-play for naptime

This post is interrupted by my computer COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT and erasing complete sentences and paragraphs of what I have written!! I re-typed certain things twice and then still had it deleted. I'm tired, I don't have the patience for this.

Anyways, to continue . . yes, he's now napping consistently in the pack-n-play, but sleeping in the big-boy-bed at night. He needs the nap, and I need him to get the nap.

I'm sad. A good friend who is a stay at home mom and has a son that my son loves to play with is going back to work next week. I will miss hanging out with her and having the two boys play together regularly. She found a great nanny, who I met today, and her boys (a younger son too) will be in good hands. My son and her son saw each other today for the first time since we've been back from vacation and they ran up and gave each other a hug. It was very sweet.

Does anyone elses kids have a tough time with life when they are about to go through a developmental milestone, change or growth spurt? I think mine is one the verge of something of that sort because he is set off by the slightest thing lately. (Maybe it's just that he's 2 going on 3??) Twice today he was instantly in tears over which book I was going to read to him. He's suddenly doing a lot of pretend play, and his vocabulary seems to grow tremendously each day. He loves to either be a cat or a dog.
There's so much going on in life when your 2 & 1/2 - I think I'd have a hard time with it too.

Back in the Saddle Again

We're HOME! I've been gone almost 3 weeks, and I feel like I have completely forgotten how to blog. After spending my days in a small, sleepy coastal town with lots of fog, all I have to say is this. . . . . IT'S HOT!!! Summer can officially end now. Tomorrow will be spent getting groceries, unpacking, making phone calls, etc. I've been spoiled on many different levels over the past few weeks, but mostly with having my son back in a coralled (pack-in-play) sleeping area and not having to deal with no naps or problems with going to sleep/getting out of bed. I'm hoping he got some good habits going and continues now that we're home. (yeah, right.) Vacation stories will come soon.

Leaving Soon

Tomorrow I'll be leaving for a while. I was originally going to be leaving this coming Friday, but plans have changed (there is a longer version) and now I'm leaving tomorrow. It's not a bad thing, but moving up the vacation start means a whole lot of things needed to get done ALOT sooner, and now I'm super tired. I may have time to blog in the morning, but I may not. I realize at this point that I don't have a ton of regular readers, but I like letting people know what's going on.

Little boy is doing pretty well on giving up the pacifier. There hasn't been any crying, but it can take him quite a while to get to sleep (1 hour or more at night) and for a few days he didn't nap at all. Now, in the midst of this he caught a stomach bug (no throwing up -thank God). He's recovered from that . . . but, now he seems to be getting a cold. He's quite a trooper about it all . . I'm very blessed. Thanks for the prayers!

Bye Bye Pacifier

Yes, my child has used a pacifier since he was 3mo. old. We restricted it to nap/bedtime use when he was about 15mo. old. It helped him so much through all his teething as well as some transitions (our move to this house last year for example). After talking to a friend about it this morning, I decided that today was the day. He's been in a big boy bed for almost 3 weeks now, and overall likes the idea of being a 'big boy'. So, I've capitalized on that phrase as I helped him to understand that the pacifier would not be used anymore. We've also been reading a book called 'Bye Bye Pacifier' where little Miss Piggy gives up her pacifier. He did pretty well at naptime . . . .he asked for it alot, he then protested "no" in his bed repeatedly for a few minutes and then transitioned to singing "no" to the tune of the Star Wars theme. Shortly after that he fell asleep. This evening was a little more difficult. I did his usual bedtime routine with him and he asked for pacifier again, and again . . .and AGAIN. Each time I told him it wasn't coming back and tried to remain calm and help him focus on other things (his blankie & stuffed dog). Once I officially put him "to bed" I had to go back in twice (he was yelling "I WANT PACIFIER") to talk with him, give lots of hugs, and reassure him that it would be ok. Over an hour since the original bedtime, he seems to be settling down. I'm preparing myself for a nighttime waking (or two) as he looks for it in the night. I'm hopeful this won't be too hard . . . . for either of us. It seems like a pretty good time to do it (as if there is ever a 'good' time) . . .and there are other things comming up - vacation, his starting preschool, and the inevitable colder weather colds - that would mean more difficulty in getting over giving up the pacifier. I'm hoping for the best. If you think about it, PLEASE PRAY . . . . for the both of us.