Monday, October 3, 2011
Calling all moms!
Each day brings new surprises and adventures for our little family. We spent the last weekend in St. George cheering Mike and his brother on as they ran a marathon. The forecast said it would be overcast and at the most 78 degrees at the finish. Liars. Fatty liars, is all I have to say. I'm pretty sure it was pushing 90 at the finish line which made me even more proud of my man and his brother! Sam is such a trooper. Seriously the kid has spent a pretty good chunk of his life in a carseat and he'll let us know when he's had enough, but even then- he's so good. He's at a point now where he's very vocal about what he wants. Not vocal in his vocabulary, which is slowly expanding, but in his little gibberish and big screams. Lately, he's been super clingy and I'm trying to figure out the best way to navigate this. Tonight he screamed the whole time I made dinner- big tears and a broken heart written all over his precious face. I would stop every once in a while to give him a love and then try to direct him back to his toys- but nothing seemed to distract him. Moms out there- how does one sanely make it through this stage? I'll take any advice.
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DIET COKE!!!Just kidding, actually not really. About this point is when we introduced baby Einstein to Tommy and he only stayed interested in it about 15 min, but we only watched it during dinner cooking time, so I was able to get the bulk of it done. Also, Id put him right up on the counter in a bumbo or high chair thing and let him have a spoon, ect. so he was close to me.
Kate's ideas are great! Making him feel part of it and up high so he can see might just do the trick. I know something that has been awesome for Abby is using sign language. I'm not talking about full on sentences but just basic things like please, thank you, milk, sleep, eat shoes, blanket, etc. All the things that she as a toddler would want to communicate but couldn't because she didn't have the spoken vocabulary. My nephew has some hearing loss and wears hearing aids and since we have moved in with my in-laws the two of them have been watching the baby signing time videos and they have both picked up SO much in the two months we have lived here. We would sit with them and help them do the signs and they eventually figured out how to adapt them to their little hands. Abby's communication has exploded and as a result her spoken language. Some people think it delays their spoken language...I don't think so and haven't seen that with Abby and my opinion is that if it stops them from being frustrated and screaming because they can't communicate it's GREAT! You can check them out from the library. Make sure you get BABY signing time and not the ones for older kids. We have volume 1 and 2 and that's plenty of vocabulary for the little ones. You are a GREAT mommy and you will figure out what works best for Sam the man but suggestions are always helpful!
Hmm, that's a hard stage. I think maybe making sure he has plenty of attention before you need to do something (like dinner) is helpful. I also often put my kids in the high chair while I make dinner so they're close and can see me. I also think sometimes you just have to let them cry, even when it's hard, in order for them to learn that it's OK if you step away for a few minutes. Give him love and reassurance that you're there and it's OK but don't feel bad if he cries a little bit. It's something every kid has to learn and it's better now than in kindergarten ;) Good luck!
You'll probably think I'm a bad mom but...when my kids are at this stage I keep a bag of M&Ms or chocolate chips handy. (Or even just a special treat they don't get all the time.) I plop them in their high chair and give them a few here or there so I can get dinner made. It almost always does the trick. And don't worry, my kids are all healthy and happy and have had no lasting effects from me giving them candy. :) You'll see with #2 it gets easier because they entertain and play with each other when you need to get things done.
By the way, I love checking in with your cute family on your blog. So glad to see your doing well!
The high chair route definitely worked for Lucy. She was happy to be close by and taste bits of dinner while I cooked. Dorothy was more the short video route or giving her plenty of spoons, pots and pans to trow around the kitchen while I tried to cook and not break my neck. It really will depend on his personality. Now that the girls are a little older, I have a few toys that I keep up on a high shelf that come down when they need a "new" distraction. They like the novelty and I usually get a long enough break to prep dinner.
Good luck, my dear! I hope you are feeling well these days! Keep resting as much as you can, and love every moment with your sweet little one before your attention has to be split between TWO little ones:)
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