Three Things
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 9:16PM Eliana
Eliana is five years old. She is my five-year-old baby. I'll be up front about it...I nursed her longer than I did the other two, I still carry her around on my hip (this one is actually a mystery to me...she often ends up there, and I honestly have no recollection of picking her up, and I (usually) set her down once I realize that I have her), and for the longest time I lay down with her to get her to sleep.
This has looked different at different times. A long time ago, I would lie across the foot of my bed while she was lying in her pack and play. Then we went through a crazy time in which my sleeping patterns were ALL messed up (it had to do with roaches), and Eliana and I were pretty much sleeping together, not in my bedroom. When we moved into the house we are presently in, she got her own room and her own bed, but I often lay down with her, or sat in her room until she was asleep. You can imagine how long this took most of the time, and how tired I was from lying down at bedtime, but knowing I had to get back up and clean up and do other things before I actually went to bed myself. Earlier this year, I knew I wanted things to change. I came up with a plan.
Since we were leaving town for the summer, I did not want to make drastic changes before we left; they would just get undone on our trip. I planned on starting the changes once we were on our trip, though. When we were at my parents', I put her to bed, and then left the room. In their house, she could still see and hear me once I was in the living room. That went pretty well. Then when we were at the beach, I put her to bed and went to do other things. I left the door open, and the closet light on, and she could still hear me. She did a good job staying in bed, even though she could hear the big kids getting ready for bed and moving about!
Once we got home, I continued with this pattern. I read to her, tucked her in, left the closet light on and the bedroom door open, and then went to do other things. I told her I would check on her, but she was not allowed to get out of her bed. She asked if she could get books or a stuffed animal. I told her she could do that, but that she needed to get back under the covers, and that she could not come out of the room.
I have been amazed at how well this has gone! There have been several,"MOM!"s, times when she calls out, wants some water, wants company, wants the hall light on. But, for the most part, she stays in her bed (and definitely stays in her room), and looks at books, and then eventually, and quietly, falls asleep. I am proud of her, because I think this is a big change. Since we did it gradually, it was a smooth process, though.
That's what I'm telling myself, anyway. Next? We'll work on her ending up on my hip.
Christian
Christian is in the elementary Sunday School program at our church, and this year they are doing something that I think is pretty neat. Each class has sponsored a child in Haiti through World Vision. They will be writing to the children, sending pictures and a Bible. The kids are also able to earn "Blessing Bucks" weekly, in order to put toward projects in the community there. I am so excited about this endeavor! It gets everyone involved, and hopefully will help them see that the world is both big and small, and that they are useful in God's kingdom.
Michaela
In the class we go to each week, there is a science experiment. One of the first ones (it may have been the first one, actually) was to look at a pinto bean before and after it had started sprouting. Each student in Michaela's class received their own bean, and she kept up with it once we were home.
I didn't even know this until she showed me her bean that had split and was growing leaves! She and Mike planted it in some soil and we have continued to watch it grow over the last few weeks. Last Tuesday, she took the bean to class and shared a Bible verse about seeds and growing (they have a presentation each week). At some point, the bean stalk (it makes it sound like it's huge) (stem?) broke, and the top-heavy plant looked doomed. She brought it home, put the leaves up on the window so they were resting against the glass, and do you know it repaired itself?! I couldn't believe it! I had no idea it would do that. It created a new layer of stem material at the break. It looks like a knobby joint, a bean plant with arthritis.
We keep watching it grow; it seems like every day it's noticeably higher. It has been fun to observe! We think it needs a bigger pot, or to get moved outside. I'm very curious to see what will happen to it...I honestly have no idea. I don't grow things. I usually kill plants. This is just another way that Michaela is not like her mother. I say if I hadn't pushed her out myself, I wouldn't be sure she came from me.
Reader Comments (3)
I am so glad to hear you got the sleep issues resolved. A well-rested mama is a GOOD thing!
This was a sweet post. Glad your new sleeping arrangement is working!
Sometimes, gradual changes are the best ones. We find that cold-turkey works amazingly around here - but sometimes, you just gotta go slow. :) And, oh my word. If that bean plant story isn't a metaphor for our new life in Christ, I don't know what it! Love it. Love it!