My Little Honey has started to have conversations. She is very interested in what you're saying and has a few opinions of her own and will gladly voice them in the form of vowel sounds and also gurgles. Another way she tells you what's on her mind is by screaming. Screams that could wake the dead. I'm sure there are some zombies walking around out there somewhere. Oh yes, my sweet and pleasant baby has a very violent temper and I shudder to think of her teenage years that are ahead of us. We have started to put her to sleep in her crib instead of letting her sleep in our bed. It kills me. I want her to be snuggled up next to me in bed but I have heard the horror stories of kids sleeping with their parents until kindergarten age and the thought of that kills me even more. Especially because Buttercup sleeps with her arms straight out and kicks furiously throughout the night. I have a foot in my gut most of the night. Anyways, so she is not liking the crib so much. I'm trying so hard to engage all of her senses in our bedtime routine so that she will know when it's bedtime. I spray some lavender and vanilla febreeze in her room (which not only kills the awful smell of peepee diaper but lulls to sleep as well), turn on Lullaby Classics and read a book, turn off the light and turn on her nightlight, wrap her in a blankie, and have a bedtime bottle. There you go, you've got smelling, hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting. She usually falls asleep while I'm holding her and I rock her a little bit and kiss her goodnight and place her gently in her bed.
!!HOLD YOUR BREATH BECAUSE SHE MIGHT WAKE UP!!
She squirms a little bit when I put her down and it's like a 50/50 chance that her squirming will disturb her slumber or she'll settle down and snooze. It's been pretty tough, but we've only been at it for less than a week so I'm hoping that as it becomes more familiar to her, she'll know what's up. Cross your fingers.
Spring Break has come and gone and tomorrow is Monday. 7 more weeks of student teaching and then I'm done. Buhhhhh. It cannot go by quickly enough. I'm at middle school now and I'm not loving it as much as I loved elementary school. It's just not as cheery and happy. Middle-schoolers are dark, creepy, emotionally unstable people and are not eager to do anything remotely educational. Not even when you disguise the education in "fun." I want to go back to elementary school where most of the students can't wait to come to your class and do whatever it is that you have planned. Hell, I could ask elementary students to dig holes in dirt and "hooray! what fun! can we do this again tomorrow?!" Not so in middle school. I am excited to direct a play at the middle school, however. I do miss directing. The excitement of directing a play is coming at a very high price. 14-year olds. Shuudddder.
I agree with the differences between elementary and middle school people. They're sort of aliens in middle schools.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right about letting Avery sleep in her own bed. One of the most important things she can learn is to calm herself--to relax herself so she can drift off to sleep. If you think about it, it's still one of the important skills we all have.
Skip the Febreze, though. Maybe use some real herbs--like some "bedtime herbs" in warm water in a container in her room. Febreze has some really strong chemicals that might be difficult for her tiny system.
Good luck with this KB. You're on the right track.
I think it is so funny and cute how she'll be just regular crying and then all of a sudden and for no apparent reason she kicks it into high gear, turbo-charged screaming. She's a hoot.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up working on getting her to sleep in her crib. She has to learn it eventually, the sooner she learns it the sooner you'll both sleep through the night!
Maybe a bedtime bath with lavender would also help.
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