My one-year old has developed the habit of standing in his crib when he should be sleeping. I end up staying in the room until he settles down, and falls asleep on his own. It is not my favorite thing to do, I get bored standing around doing nothing. (I pass the time with leg lifts and mule kicks and sun salutations.)
On the wall above his crib, hangs a stick mobile I made when my three and a half year old was only one. I remember that day clearly. We had a blanket spread out on the front lawn (when the lawn was still grass and weeds, before we seeded it with clover). We were waiting for Baba to come home. It was sunny and warm. I was picking up sticks and making circles out of them. I guess I was bored.
There are a lot of boring moments when you are a stay-at-home mom. I try to accept them as part of the day. I am not exactly sure how to enjoy them. I want to race about DOING.
I guess the mobile reminds me that it is very likely I will look back fondly on these quiet times. Maybe one day, I will wish I could stand beside the crib, just one more time, to watch my little one raise a blanket over his face and fall gently to sleep*, knowing mommy is in the room watching over him.
*Falling gently to sleep is a rarity...It takes quite a bit of consoling to get my son to go to bed. It's a phase that is really, really, killing me.
ps. The mobile is hung on a plaster hand print of mine from Kindergarten, beside a dinosaur print from salvation army.
Thank you for this post. Especially the last paragraph, which I needed to hear as I unsuccessfully keep attempting to sleep-train (or whatever you call it) my 5.5 month old twins! Patience is often wearing thin, but you hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteMy son is five and we still sit on the floor next to his bed until he falls asleep. Having said that, it is a rarity for him to wake up in the night ... he sleeps 9-10 hours straight. It's a trade-off, but my feelings are that he won't want me to do this when he's fourteen and I should treasure these times. What do I do while I wait? I doze, I organize my to-do list in my head, I think about work projects. I TRY to meditate.
ReplyDeleteI really feel the boredom when my mister is out of town. It goes in a kind of cycle; I get bored enough to get knee deep in an ambitious diy project and usually have to wait until he's home again to finish. The nights feel really long when there isn't another adult to talk too!
ReplyDeleteIm back at work since Monday after a year of mat leave...I have to confess that my return was bittersweet. I like my job but I REALLY missed looking and caressing those tiny fingers and toes while he is falling asleep...I miss my boys during day.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most sweetest post Shannon. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy now (which is saying a LOT because it's sooooo cold out here in Winnipeg)! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteMy kids are older, and I remember those days well, so I really sympathize with you. But as I'm watching one get ready to head off to university next year, and the other one get so busy with her teenage life, I just want to say time really flies, enjoy every minute.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny...because here we are 17 days later and things have already shifted...tonight, for the first night, his dad put him to bed...*sigh*
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy!
ReplyDeleteOh man! You will enjoy your moments together soo much more...it is so easy to take the time for granted when you spent 15 hours a day in the same space
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine! I mean, when my husband is out (maybe a night or two max) the house feels odd. Even though he is usually watching TV and working in the basement when he is home, and I am reading in bed, I miss knowing he is here...does that make sense? I do the exact same things...but there is definitely a hole!
ReplyDeleteI am thinking both boys can share a room eventually...so that we can do the tuck ins and stories and songs and kill two birds with one stone!!! Because I know my 3 year old will cling to this bedtime room as long as he can! He likes structure...
ReplyDeleteGosh! You are a super hero!
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