Sitting on my hands.
My baby is no longer a baby. *sniff sniff* Tonight, right now as I write this, Mateo is upstairs in his big boy bed. He's doing okay so far. We can hear him through the monitor doing the things he used to do in his crib - play his Glo Worm, mess around with some trains, sing, etc.
So as I sit here reminiscing about his former baby years, I am practically sitting on my hands to not go up there and check on him. However, I know in order for him to grow and become self-reliant we must allow him the space to do so. No crutches here, folks. No sippy cups. No pacifiers after the first birthday. No toddler bed even. We went straight to the real deal. Yes, we're that mean!
In preparation of this moment (and to show him how BIG we think he is), we made today an event for big boys only. After a special breakfast of pumpkin eggnog French toast we took Mateo to see his first movie - Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. He barely sat in his chair (would you if yours kept folding up on you?), but he enjoyed it very much. Our usually shy guy was flapping his gums at the start, but he quickly got into the movie and quieted down. (I think the popcorn helped with that.)
Later, after his nap, we moved his furniture around in his room so the bed would be in the same spot as the crib. This REALLY excited him. He kept telling us "good night" and crawling into bed. The room looks a bit odd right now (which will really take some strength from me not to "fix it"), but we think it was a good move (pun intended) in that it'll feel more familiar to him.
To top off the night we went out for a special big boy dinner. What did he want? Pancakes!! He's truly just like his mother. :) We also took him to choose a new pair of big boy pajamas. We really thought he'd choose "Mickey House" (as he calls it) or Thomas the Train, but he ended up choosing none. He said he wanted to wear "the monster right here on my shirt." So that was that. He went to bed in his monster shirt and pj pants.
And then the actual event happened. He panicked a little once he realized he wasn't going in his crib. We let him cry for about 2 or 3 minutes before I went to tuck him back in bed. It's now been about an hour, and he's still hanging in there.
So can I go upstairs and check on him now? Is it wrong to wish your little "big boy" still needs you?
So as I sit here reminiscing about his former baby years, I am practically sitting on my hands to not go up there and check on him. However, I know in order for him to grow and become self-reliant we must allow him the space to do so. No crutches here, folks. No sippy cups. No pacifiers after the first birthday. No toddler bed even. We went straight to the real deal. Yes, we're that mean!
In preparation of this moment (and to show him how BIG we think he is), we made today an event for big boys only. After a special breakfast of pumpkin eggnog French toast we took Mateo to see his first movie - Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. He barely sat in his chair (would you if yours kept folding up on you?), but he enjoyed it very much. Our usually shy guy was flapping his gums at the start, but he quickly got into the movie and quieted down. (I think the popcorn helped with that.)
Later, after his nap, we moved his furniture around in his room so the bed would be in the same spot as the crib. This REALLY excited him. He kept telling us "good night" and crawling into bed. The room looks a bit odd right now (which will really take some strength from me not to "fix it"), but we think it was a good move (pun intended) in that it'll feel more familiar to him.
To top off the night we went out for a special big boy dinner. What did he want? Pancakes!! He's truly just like his mother. :) We also took him to choose a new pair of big boy pajamas. We really thought he'd choose "Mickey House" (as he calls it) or Thomas the Train, but he ended up choosing none. He said he wanted to wear "the monster right here on my shirt." So that was that. He went to bed in his monster shirt and pj pants.
And then the actual event happened. He panicked a little once he realized he wasn't going in his crib. We let him cry for about 2 or 3 minutes before I went to tuck him back in bed. It's now been about an hour, and he's still hanging in there.
So can I go upstairs and check on him now? Is it wrong to wish your little "big boy" still needs you?
Labels: Mateo
posted by Jodi C. at 6:59 PM
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