Frustrating Ideas

Four days off work leaves plenty of time for surfing the web, relaxing at home and loads and loads of time to think, contemplate and assess my beliefs. This morning I've found focus and fuel for my thinking. A blogpost from a blog that my wife reads really caught my attention.

I'm sure you can guess the topic of conversation. One of my favorites, sleep. And there's not much surprise coming here - I completely disagree with the woman. She talks of the dangers of Ferber and sleep training because children are only children once. But I think that she's missing the point.

In an ideal situation no one would ever need to ferberize their kids. But using a cry-it-out method is the fastest and easiest way to correct negative habits that have been formed.

We've had one child in the past decade who slept perfectly and grew faster than a weed. She was massive and happy and unbelievably healthy. The day her mother returned from the hospital she handed her over and said, "I'm [40] too old for this." And that was it. The work day went from ten hours to twenty-two during that interaction. The two hours off were from 7am until 9am to sleep uninterrupted. But you know what? Feisty little Eleanor made known what she needed. Each little cue was met and responded to from day one. Around six weeks old her schedule seemed to take form and by three months old Eleanor was sleeping regularly, eating like a pack of wild mustangs and her growth was off the charts. She was happy, sociable and healthy. She slept all night long her her own bed every night and twice each day. She never cried it out one minute that entire time.

Now I hear the skeptics out there. I can quote them,
"Temperaments are different."
"Children are different."
"She was a unique case."

And my response?
THAT'S TRUE.
Temperaments ARE different.
Children ARE different.
Eleanor IS unique.

But you know what? There are consistencies across the differences. That is why a person who is good with children is generally good with EVERY child they meet. Despite their differences. Because along with differences come similarities. These same ideas work with potty-learning as well.

That's what I have today. Now back to work. I need to get things done!

Thanksgiving Eve.

Wow, I haven't posted here since July. That was such a long time ago. And the issues with my work environment feel like a lifetime ago. Things are great! I have so much to be thankful for here on Thanksgiving Eve.

Work is wonderful. The tomatoes are amazing. As I read through some of the posts just before the last I saw the post about Tabitha taking her first steps. That seems like decades ago. Now she runs. She jumps. She climbs everything - she can nearly climb into her crib by herself - she's just so much deeper than she was in July. 

And Jackson, well, he took much, much longer to begin walking. He discovered, just after Tabitha perfected her walking, that traveling on his knees in an upright position was just as good as walking. At least he thought so. He didn't want to stop. EI would come without suggestions. It was terribly exhausting and hard. Going to the playground meant he was stationary or covered in woodchips. I was worried about winter and taking him out in the snow. Then, with quite a bit of encouragement and persistence on my part, he started walking. Just a little at first. Like Tabitha he tripped easily and needed to be helped up often. But now, you'd never guess. The boy jumps like a madman. He 's light on his feet and loves to dance. He's started running. 

But this is all recap. The big news that I have for you, probably one of the main reasons that things are going so well, is that both tomatoes talk like crazy! The chatter like little monkeys incessantly. And they have at least fifty words - in TWO languages! 

They play games with each other. They've stopped biting. THANK YOU GOD! They still fight over toys and books (I can't tell you how many times each day I remind them to share) but they love each other! It is awesome. They play pretend. Pretending with objects and without. We color with crayons and have taken two classes. Next week we'll start our third. 

Oh! And we only take one nap now! Only.ONE.Nap.!. It was a tough transition, but two naps were more stress than they were worth. The quantity of sleep they get each day decreased significantly, something I was not pleased with at all, but overall it's been good. 

I'm so happy! They are so adorable! And there's so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving out there blogosphere.