Jim asked me the other day why I don't post about some of the harder, more stressful parts of day-to-day life. I didn't really have an answer and so he got me thinking that I need to let you in on a little secret-- I may be overly optimistic all the time, but family life is not perfect. I like to reflect on the better parts of my day, not the tough stuff.
But without further ado, here's some situations at our house that are less than desirable:
-The crying! If Audrey is not being held, chances are she's crying. It's crazy... she's such an easygoing baby, but if she's put down to take a nap or if I have to do something else (play with Edison or go to the bathroom), she will cry! When I lay her down for a nap, 90% of the time she will cry for many minutes before she falls asleep. She just hasn't learned how to be alone. It's TOUGH! Sometimes it's tears and other times it's just a cry sound that breaks your heart. SO.MUCH.CRYING. For bedtime she's a little better... I would say it's only 70% of the time she cries for more than 5 minutes. It's tough not to just run in there and "rescue" her, but she really needs to learn the skill of falling asleep on her own.
-The tantrums! Edison will throw at tantrum at what we may think is the most mundane thing, but his world is so small that he's truly hurt if things don't go the way he had anticipated. For instance, he will throw a tantrum if we don't show him his poop in his diaper. He will throw a tantrum if he doesn't get to pour his own milk or water. He will throw a tantrum if he doesn't get to put the laundry in the dryer. He will throw a tantrum if I do something that he associates with Jim... for instance yesterday he was upset because I changed out the trash liner and in turn he went and threw the liner away and threw the little trash can. He also threw our little back massager because I changed the batteries in it for him and he wanted Jim to do it, but since Jim was at work, I did it!
-Also if Jim is around and we are going somewhere in the car, Jim has to be the one to put him and get him out of his carseat.
-Edison has recently started screaming/yelling/getting upset in public if he doesn't want to socialize with someone or if we talk for him. The other day at dinner a woman was cooing at Audrey and then asked Edison how old he was and when he didn't want to respond, I answered for him and then he screamed so loud that most of the patrons looked at us in the restaurant. He said something like "I AM NOT 2 1/2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
-Tough stuff for me is feeling the winter slump and not being able to take Edison outdoors and run around the neighborhood like we used to do. I don't like that I can't motivate myself to want to get Audrey bundled up and outdoors with us (even though she likes it outside too). It's also hard being on four different schedules-- a toddler (keeping him engaged), an infant (I'm still nursing a lot), my own (the time I have when they take their afternoon nap and after they go to sleep at night), and Jim's (needing him after he's off of work to help with dinner and bathtime). Nursing! I love nursing Audrey, but I get paranoid that she's not getting enough milk from me (even though the doctor says she's great), but as a mom that had a tough time with Edison, I worry and doubt myself which also isn't good for milk production. Well I have plenty of things I could point out about myself...
Some days are better than others. So far today Edison hasn't had a tantrum, but Audrey did cry for many minutes before falling asleep for her afternoon nap.
So that's a small look into some of the obstacles that we may face in a day. It's tough and challenging-- quite the learning experience. At night Jim and I talk about what we should do when certain things happen. Currently I'm going through our sleep training book for some re-inspiration on how to get Audrey to be comfortable in bed without relying on me to fall asleep. And next I'm gonna read Positive Discipline, which Jim has read and he says will help me better understand where Edison is coming from when he gets upset.
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