Lately A2’s been throwing bed time tantrums. She’s almost 2 now. She decides she wants to go to bed, grabs her pacifier, blanket and bottle, does her rounds, says good night to everyone in the house, goes up the stairs and willing goes into her crib. All seems well … until we leave the room.
I’m sitting on a rocking chair, in the hallway, right outside A2’s bedroom where she can see me.
She’s standing up in her crib yelling. She just threw her pacifier, bottle and blanket out.
A2: “Mommmmmmmmmmy!”
Me: “Mommy’s here.”
I just got up, and handed her the pacifier and blanket. She reached out her arms “Please! Please!” and she’s crying really hard. I went back to my chair.
“Mommy’s here” is all I keep repeating.
I’m trying this technique I was taught when A1 was throwing bed time tantrums a few years ago. It worked back then with her, now I’m hoping it will work on A2.
I was told by a family member who is the principal of a daycare, to sit outside her room where she could see me. Make sure you’re not IN her room, she specified. So back then I set up the rocking chair outside A1’s room and I would sit there for 30 to 40 minutes every day until she fell asleep. I was pregnant with A2 then. I loved that time on that chair. If something needed to be done during the day I would leave it for “chair time”, I would fold the laundry, sow, even iron in that spot. Oh I just remembered how Jack would make me ginger tea for my nausea back then. And when I finished my chores, I would read. I’ve never read as much as I’ve read in this chair outside A1’s room.
Here I am, almost two years later, in the same spot.
It seems to have workedon A2. She’s not crying anymore, and she has her head down.
I love the chair time because you’re on duty but it’s still “me” time. I’m so happy to be sitting here again. I guess this is where I’ll be blogging from now on.
Now that the Stanley Cup has been won and there’s no more Hockey I was worried about when I’ll have the chance to blog…but everything worked out.
She’s fallen asleep.
Most of the time I question my parenting skills and wonder if I’m doing the right thing, but it feels so good when I know I’ve done something right.
I’m really happy to be on the chair again, I had forgotten how great it was.
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