Coming home from 8 days on the road, we realized that we had a big problem. Reed was going to "Grandparent Detox." Here are the issues and the update of how things are going.
Issue 1: Sleeping in his own bed.
Detoxification Process: Upon arriving home at 11:00 on Saturday evening, Reed slept very soundly until 7:00 AM. Exhausted and without any fight in us, we put him in our bed where he slept until 8:30. Day 2, Reed went to bed at normal time, but then woke up around 2:30. He cried for about 15 minutes and Abbey went upstairs and gave him his stopper. After keeping her hand on him for several minutes he was calm and went back to sleep. Reed slept until about 7:15 and I got him out of his bed and we came to the bonus room for morning playtime. Day 3, New Year's Eve, Reed went to bed in the Pack-n-play with no fight. He woke up at 11:45 and went to bed without fight when we arrived home from the party. Reed slept soundly until 7:15 this morning. Tonight, Reed fought going down, but after a few minutes, he was good to go.
Issue 2: Taking a Nap.
Detoxification Process: Reed has not had a steady nap for quite some time. Over the past few days, Reed has gone to sleep around 9:00 without fight. Unfortunately, the fight was not completely won because he slept on the sofa with one of us. The good news is, for the past two days he has sleep for 2 hours during his morning nap. The afternoon nap has been a bit of a struggle. Yesterday, the weary child went to sleep but then screamed when he was put in his bed. After a few minutes, he went to sleep. He then took a 1.5 hour nap on the sofa late yesterday afternoon. Today, we all three fell asleep on the sofa for 3 hours. Tomorrow will be the real test because mommy will be by herself.
Issue 3: Being Held Constantly.
Detoxification Process: Reed was never in the company of only one fan during the entire 8 day trip, so when he came home and sometimes had only one parent around him, he was a bit dismayed when we had something to do besides playing on the floor with him. Thankfully, the MANY, many, MANY toys he got for Christmas have helped with this process. Reed has adjusted to playing in the bonus room by himself really well while we work in the room. This has been the easiest of all of the detox issues.
Issue 4: No.
Detoxification Process: Reed heard the word, "No," very few times while we were gone. We are attempting to "not baby proof" our house by teaching Reed that some things cannot be touched or there are some places that he cannot go. Reed CERTAINLY did not hear "NO!" in past week. We are in the process of reteaching "No" and the places and things he cannot handle. This one will be an ongoing one for the next 18 or so years, I am thinking.
2 comments:
The "No" issue will be going strong for longer than 18 years. You can bet on that...
Jeff and Abbey....CONGRATULATIONS! My access to internet has been so meager, that I didn't get to actually BROWSE any at all a month and a half ago when I finally posted for the first time in ages on my own blog...and, hadn't gotten back onto the internet since then to READ any of the comments left to that post or otherwise browse. So it is that I am just now, today, for the very first time seeing sweet little Reed's face! I can't wait to quit commenting here, so I can backtrack over your old entries and catch up on what I have missed out on over the last four months! But, I did have to pause here long enough just to warn you that "grandparent syndrome" (as I have always called it) only gets WORSE as a child ages. After every visit to grandparents, the whole issue of boundaries must be re-established all over again. Sounds like you are already discovering that!
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