Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A Better Bedtime
Tonight Jackson got out of his bed one time. He fussed a little for like 3 minutes at the most. He asked for a drink of water, which we responded by telling him to lie down, close his eyes, and we'd bring it to him. Then, we waited 5 minutes, and he was out! Does "tricking" count as progress?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fool Me Once...
Continuation of our big boy bed transition. Read the previous blog for explanation.
Night number three- "The Plan"
After last night's emotional breakdown, we needed a plan. Now, more than ever, we needed to be consistent, for fear of ending up on "Super Nanny" with seven-year-old Jackson who screams at the top of his lungs at bedtime, unless both of his parents sleep on the floor next to his bed, where they must remain the entire night or he'll beat them up. What? Have you ever seen the show? It happens!
Our plan was to calmly walk Jackson back to bed, like we've been doing, but instead of staying in there and trying to reason with him we would say, "Good night. I love you." and walk right back out of the room. Simple. Consistent. Calm.
Jackson has also been contemplating the past few nights, and he too formulated a plan. Both plans went into effect at exactly 8:00. Daddy announced it was time for bed. Jackson walked over to the living room window and announced the sprinklers were on. We picked up toys, brushed teeth, drank water, read one book, sang songs, and climbed in bed. First came the plea for another book. Denied. "In the morning," I said. We gave kisses, turned the light off, and walked out of the room. Let the games begin. He didn't scream at the top of his lungs, just sort of this whiny, fake cry. Is this progress? He immediately walked out of the room. Adam walked him back. "Good night. I love you." Now Jackson was crying for mommy. Adam and I switched off every few times or so. "Good night. I love you," over and over again. He requested his "Veggie Tales" CD, "Good night. I love you," I said. Adam said, "That's kind of harsh isn't it? Can't we just switch CD's for him real quick." No. It's a distraction. We have to stay focussed. "Sit down," Jackson pleaded. "Good night. I love you." He went on to ask to sleep in mommy's bed, for daddy to sleep in his bed, to play a game, for a hug, and to be rocked. All of which, we responded with, "Good night. I love you." Then, the secret weapon. He announced he needed to go potty. Of course. We always let him go when he needs to and praise him for trying. Little stinker! It caught us by surprise and made us think for a minute. Should we let him? But ultimately we still responded with, "Good night. I love you." I had a weak moment when he asked for a drink of water. He had been crying for 45 minutes. I'm sure he really was thirsty. I told him to lie down, and I would get him some water. As I reentered his room, he was lying down, just like I asked. No crying. "Good job, Jackson. Thank you for lying down." He sat up quickly and said cheerfully, "I waked up!!" "Good night. I love you," I responded. At exactly 9:30, the crying ceased, and Jackson peacefully drifted off to dream land.
Where is our big breakthrough?? When will we see progress? Like 30 minutes of crying instead of an hour. Sigh.
Night number three- "The Plan"
After last night's emotional breakdown, we needed a plan. Now, more than ever, we needed to be consistent, for fear of ending up on "Super Nanny" with seven-year-old Jackson who screams at the top of his lungs at bedtime, unless both of his parents sleep on the floor next to his bed, where they must remain the entire night or he'll beat them up. What? Have you ever seen the show? It happens!
Our plan was to calmly walk Jackson back to bed, like we've been doing, but instead of staying in there and trying to reason with him we would say, "Good night. I love you." and walk right back out of the room. Simple. Consistent. Calm.
Jackson has also been contemplating the past few nights, and he too formulated a plan. Both plans went into effect at exactly 8:00. Daddy announced it was time for bed. Jackson walked over to the living room window and announced the sprinklers were on. We picked up toys, brushed teeth, drank water, read one book, sang songs, and climbed in bed. First came the plea for another book. Denied. "In the morning," I said. We gave kisses, turned the light off, and walked out of the room. Let the games begin. He didn't scream at the top of his lungs, just sort of this whiny, fake cry. Is this progress? He immediately walked out of the room. Adam walked him back. "Good night. I love you." Now Jackson was crying for mommy. Adam and I switched off every few times or so. "Good night. I love you," over and over again. He requested his "Veggie Tales" CD, "Good night. I love you," I said. Adam said, "That's kind of harsh isn't it? Can't we just switch CD's for him real quick." No. It's a distraction. We have to stay focussed. "Sit down," Jackson pleaded. "Good night. I love you." He went on to ask to sleep in mommy's bed, for daddy to sleep in his bed, to play a game, for a hug, and to be rocked. All of which, we responded with, "Good night. I love you." Then, the secret weapon. He announced he needed to go potty. Of course. We always let him go when he needs to and praise him for trying. Little stinker! It caught us by surprise and made us think for a minute. Should we let him? But ultimately we still responded with, "Good night. I love you." I had a weak moment when he asked for a drink of water. He had been crying for 45 minutes. I'm sure he really was thirsty. I told him to lie down, and I would get him some water. As I reentered his room, he was lying down, just like I asked. No crying. "Good job, Jackson. Thank you for lying down." He sat up quickly and said cheerfully, "I waked up!!" "Good night. I love you," I responded. At exactly 9:30, the crying ceased, and Jackson peacefully drifted off to dream land.
Where is our big breakthrough?? When will we see progress? Like 30 minutes of crying instead of an hour. Sigh.
Big Boy Beds - A blog post by Jamie Sijansky
This is 4 days of blogging all in the same post. Apologies!
Jackson is two years and 3 months old, starting to wear big boy underwear, drinking from a regular cup, using 7+ word sentences, picking out his own clothes, expressing his opinions, questioning and repeating everything, and getting freckles--we can't keep it from happening. He is turning into a big boy, a kid! With all of these wonderful transitions comes "the time" to move from his crib to a bed. A time I have been dreading. After all, who doesn't love cribs? They are safe and have those brilliant bars to keep him secure. He's happy, and we're happy. Now I'm left wondering if we will ever be happy again.
We gave his big boy bed a lot thought. OK, I admit, I was stalling a little. No bed meant a little more crib time. We did some research, looked online, visited furniture stores and Ikea. We decided to skip the toddler bed (a waste of money) and jump into a twin size bed, preferably low to the ground with a rail..that goes all the way around the bed..wait, I'm describing a crib. After looking a lot and finding very little, my aunt surprised us with her boys' sturdy, oak bunk beds, which are still in excellent condition. They met all of the criteria... except for the rail that encircles the bed. :) We assembled the "new" beds and hid the ladder in the closet. The big boy bed transition was upon us.
Night number one- entitled, "Into the Unknown"
We talked up the bed a lot. All day. Jack was very excited. We went through the usual nightly routine of brushing teeth, reading a story of Jackson's choosing, and rocking while singing two or three favorite songs. We moved all of his animal friends and blanket to his new bed. Jackson crawled in AND... immediately started crying. Adam and I both sat next to the bed and tried to coax him to lie down, but he wouldn't have it. After a few minutes of of failed attempts, we decided to say goodnight and leave the room. (I am now going to insert some clarification. Jackson was crying because he didn't want to go to bed, which started about a week ago because he wanted to stay up and play with his aunt and uncles, who spent a few days with us. In his crib, he'd cry a little and call us into the room every other second with a new excuse to stay awake, but eventually, he grew bored and would fall asleep. He was not crying because he was scared of the new bed.) Adam and I left the room and walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later the crying stopped, and Jack's door slowly creaked opened. His head popped out of the small opening, and he cracked up laughing when he saw us staring at him from the kitchen. And so it begins, the realization, the enlightenment. "If I'm upset about going to bed, I can just get OUT of my bed." I took him by the hand and led him back into his room. Then the crying started. Then the quiet. Then the creak of the door. Then the crying as we walked back to bed and so on. Over and over and over. After 15 minutes of this I was ready to put him in his crib. "He's just not ready!" I pleaded with Adam. However, perseverance was our motto, and one hour later he was peacefully sleeping in his new bed.
Night number two- "Here We Go Again!"
Jackson started giving us excuses before bed, if that gives any indication of how bedtime went. He crawled into bed crying and hopped down and followed us out before we could even get outside of the room. We took turns taking him back to bed, sitting with him, and trying to coax him to lie down. Exactly one hour later, he was finally asleep.
Night number three- "I've Got This!"
Adam needed to do research for his thesis so I assured him I had bedtime under control. No need to tag team it tonight. He headed to Starbucks, and I went through the bedtime routine alone. I fully expected his usual crying, but what I wasn't prepared for was the toll it would take on me doing this alone. Jackson screamed at the top of his lungs for daddy (of course, because daddy couldn't tuck him in, and my son is the king of excuses). I walked him back to bed over and over and over. He screamed louder and louder. I felt my blood pressure rising, and I had to take deep breaths to stay calm. At times I wanted to yell, "Just go to sleep!!" Other times I wanted to give in, to rock him, or crawl in bed with him, but I managed to calmly walk him back to bed and leave the room. I could feel myself reaching a breaking point as the clock turned 9:30 and no end was in sight. I called Adam crying and asked him to come home. I couldn't take anymore. Of course, Jackson fell asleep at 9:35, right before Adam walked in the door.
Keep reading as I update our progress or the lack there of.
Jackson is two years and 3 months old, starting to wear big boy underwear, drinking from a regular cup, using 7+ word sentences, picking out his own clothes, expressing his opinions, questioning and repeating everything, and getting freckles--we can't keep it from happening. He is turning into a big boy, a kid! With all of these wonderful transitions comes "the time" to move from his crib to a bed. A time I have been dreading. After all, who doesn't love cribs? They are safe and have those brilliant bars to keep him secure. He's happy, and we're happy. Now I'm left wondering if we will ever be happy again.
We gave his big boy bed a lot thought. OK, I admit, I was stalling a little. No bed meant a little more crib time. We did some research, looked online, visited furniture stores and Ikea. We decided to skip the toddler bed (a waste of money) and jump into a twin size bed, preferably low to the ground with a rail..that goes all the way around the bed..wait, I'm describing a crib. After looking a lot and finding very little, my aunt surprised us with her boys' sturdy, oak bunk beds, which are still in excellent condition. They met all of the criteria... except for the rail that encircles the bed. :) We assembled the "new" beds and hid the ladder in the closet. The big boy bed transition was upon us.
Night number one- entitled, "Into the Unknown"
We talked up the bed a lot. All day. Jack was very excited. We went through the usual nightly routine of brushing teeth, reading a story of Jackson's choosing, and rocking while singing two or three favorite songs. We moved all of his animal friends and blanket to his new bed. Jackson crawled in AND... immediately started crying. Adam and I both sat next to the bed and tried to coax him to lie down, but he wouldn't have it. After a few minutes of of failed attempts, we decided to say goodnight and leave the room. (I am now going to insert some clarification. Jackson was crying because he didn't want to go to bed, which started about a week ago because he wanted to stay up and play with his aunt and uncles, who spent a few days with us. In his crib, he'd cry a little and call us into the room every other second with a new excuse to stay awake, but eventually, he grew bored and would fall asleep. He was not crying because he was scared of the new bed.) Adam and I left the room and walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later the crying stopped, and Jack's door slowly creaked opened. His head popped out of the small opening, and he cracked up laughing when he saw us staring at him from the kitchen. And so it begins, the realization, the enlightenment. "If I'm upset about going to bed, I can just get OUT of my bed." I took him by the hand and led him back into his room. Then the crying started. Then the quiet. Then the creak of the door. Then the crying as we walked back to bed and so on. Over and over and over. After 15 minutes of this I was ready to put him in his crib. "He's just not ready!" I pleaded with Adam. However, perseverance was our motto, and one hour later he was peacefully sleeping in his new bed.
Night number two- "Here We Go Again!"
Jackson started giving us excuses before bed, if that gives any indication of how bedtime went. He crawled into bed crying and hopped down and followed us out before we could even get outside of the room. We took turns taking him back to bed, sitting with him, and trying to coax him to lie down. Exactly one hour later, he was finally asleep.
Night number three- "I've Got This!"
Adam needed to do research for his thesis so I assured him I had bedtime under control. No need to tag team it tonight. He headed to Starbucks, and I went through the bedtime routine alone. I fully expected his usual crying, but what I wasn't prepared for was the toll it would take on me doing this alone. Jackson screamed at the top of his lungs for daddy (of course, because daddy couldn't tuck him in, and my son is the king of excuses). I walked him back to bed over and over and over. He screamed louder and louder. I felt my blood pressure rising, and I had to take deep breaths to stay calm. At times I wanted to yell, "Just go to sleep!!" Other times I wanted to give in, to rock him, or crawl in bed with him, but I managed to calmly walk him back to bed and leave the room. I could feel myself reaching a breaking point as the clock turned 9:30 and no end was in sight. I called Adam crying and asked him to come home. I couldn't take anymore. Of course, Jackson fell asleep at 9:35, right before Adam walked in the door.
Keep reading as I update our progress or the lack there of.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Feeling more like a home, less like a project.
It turns out that owning a home can turn you into a jack of all trades and a master of none. We haven't encountered anything that needs repairs beyond the use of a screwdriver or power drill, and we've managed to get about one-third of the house painted. At first Jamie and I considered hiring a professional painter, but we decided to save money and try our hand before forking over a pretty penny. After deciding on a color, we purchased five gallons of paint and all the necessities. In hindsight, it would have been better to purchase the sample paint before committing to five gallons, but we are happy with the color and the way it all turned out.
So far, we've painted the front living room, dining room, kitchen, and one of the hallways. Next we have to tackle the back living room-a feat we are not exactly excited about since it's a pretty large room with lots of windows and trim to paint around.
The hardest part of this experience has been a single wall in the kitchen. It's our "accent" wall, which we decided to paint green. Choosing a color was difficult, as it had to coordinate with our black appliances and the dark brown cabinets. The first coat was too pale so we applied a second, and still it was too "sea-foam" green. Finally, we went back to the store and they darkened it for us, and it looks great on the wall. It's exactly the color we envisioned.
Enough about painting.
Stay tuned for pictures and an update on Jack's new room!
So far, we've painted the front living room, dining room, kitchen, and one of the hallways. Next we have to tackle the back living room-a feat we are not exactly excited about since it's a pretty large room with lots of windows and trim to paint around.
The hardest part of this experience has been a single wall in the kitchen. It's our "accent" wall, which we decided to paint green. Choosing a color was difficult, as it had to coordinate with our black appliances and the dark brown cabinets. The first coat was too pale so we applied a second, and still it was too "sea-foam" green. Finally, we went back to the store and they darkened it for us, and it looks great on the wall. It's exactly the color we envisioned.
Enough about painting.
Stay tuned for pictures and an update on Jack's new room!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
It Seems So Real, I Can Almost Smell It!
Few people look forward to summer vacation more than teachers, and with two in this family, summer is the greatest part of our year. While teaching is a rewarding profession, there is nothing like having two months off to travel, read, start (but never finish) projects, or what we do--hang out all day trying to find free stuff to do with a two year old.
So that last part was sort of tongue-in-cheek because we really are excited about summer. We bought a house back in April and have yet to really get to work on it. Honestly, it is beautiful like it is. I've got a great deck on the back, it's landscaped, and there's plenty of rooms on which to spend money trying to fill them with furniture. But we'd like to really make it our own and give it a fresh, clean coat of paint so our two year old will have a neat canvas on which to paint.
Here's to a great summer for us all!
Clarification Update-Jack has already twice colored on the walls-once with red and blue pens, the next with blue and green crayons. We still have no idea where he found them!
So that last part was sort of tongue-in-cheek because we really are excited about summer. We bought a house back in April and have yet to really get to work on it. Honestly, it is beautiful like it is. I've got a great deck on the back, it's landscaped, and there's plenty of rooms on which to spend money trying to fill them with furniture. But we'd like to really make it our own and give it a fresh, clean coat of paint so our two year old will have a neat canvas on which to paint.
Here's to a great summer for us all!
Clarification Update-Jack has already twice colored on the walls-once with red and blue pens, the next with blue and green crayons. We still have no idea where he found them!
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