Nine in, nine out.
Matthew is nine months old today. Happy 3/4 birthday, little guy!
This birthday brings deep changes. All within the last month or so, he has become mobile; started seriously eating solid foods; understood cause and effect; learned to entertain himself independently; developed an unpredictable and infectious laugh; and learned to recognize and love certain books.
Tonight, for the first time, he's sleeping in his actual crib. We've been cosleeping with him for his entire life -- first in a sidecar crib, then with both of us, then with me, then with Rich (and sometimes with me). But his crawling has put an end to that. :-( Even though he's on a futon on the floor -- not on a tall bed -- he scoots around so much at night that he sometimes ends up on the floor and very upset. So for his own safety, he's now in the crib. Here's hoping we all get a good night's sleep tonight...
Meanwhile, I've basically started back to work, albeit at home. I'm doing design consulting for various clients, and the work is bursty, in that sometimes I'm doing a lot of work on a given day and sometimes not much at all. So I often get to play with Matthew during the day, and nurse him, and go to playdates with him (thus giving Rich a break from all-day child care). I like it this way, and part of me dreads sending Matthew to daycare in September. But he's only there until 3:00 each day, and I can always pick him up early or bring him in late. And if it doesn't work out, we can cut back the hours, or only send him three days a week, or whatever.
But I think daycare will be good for him. I swear he gets bored at home. Not bored by us, but bored with his toys, and the walls of our house. It's been too hot to have him outside most days, although the outdoors calms him down very effectively. So having a new place to go to -- with lots of toys, and other babies, and adults that he'll learn to trust and like -- may make him happier. He'll still get lots of lovin' and playtime at home!
I can't imagine ever going back to work full-time at this point. I'm serious about being a good mother -- well, we're both serious about being good parents! -- and that takes time and commitment. We've chosen to do "attachment parenting," which means lots of time spent with the child, lots of patience and hugs, no scheduling or pushing or crying it out, and so on. To me, AP means parenting with compassion. And it's taxing. No lie; cosleeping and slinging and long-term nursing are hard work. But it's worth it. We're building a childhood for Matthew, and we want to do it as well as we can.
This birthday brings deep changes. All within the last month or so, he has become mobile; started seriously eating solid foods; understood cause and effect; learned to entertain himself independently; developed an unpredictable and infectious laugh; and learned to recognize and love certain books.
Tonight, for the first time, he's sleeping in his actual crib. We've been cosleeping with him for his entire life -- first in a sidecar crib, then with both of us, then with me, then with Rich (and sometimes with me). But his crawling has put an end to that. :-( Even though he's on a futon on the floor -- not on a tall bed -- he scoots around so much at night that he sometimes ends up on the floor and very upset. So for his own safety, he's now in the crib. Here's hoping we all get a good night's sleep tonight...
Meanwhile, I've basically started back to work, albeit at home. I'm doing design consulting for various clients, and the work is bursty, in that sometimes I'm doing a lot of work on a given day and sometimes not much at all. So I often get to play with Matthew during the day, and nurse him, and go to playdates with him (thus giving Rich a break from all-day child care). I like it this way, and part of me dreads sending Matthew to daycare in September. But he's only there until 3:00 each day, and I can always pick him up early or bring him in late. And if it doesn't work out, we can cut back the hours, or only send him three days a week, or whatever.
But I think daycare will be good for him. I swear he gets bored at home. Not bored by us, but bored with his toys, and the walls of our house. It's been too hot to have him outside most days, although the outdoors calms him down very effectively. So having a new place to go to -- with lots of toys, and other babies, and adults that he'll learn to trust and like -- may make him happier. He'll still get lots of lovin' and playtime at home!
I can't imagine ever going back to work full-time at this point. I'm serious about being a good mother -- well, we're both serious about being good parents! -- and that takes time and commitment. We've chosen to do "attachment parenting," which means lots of time spent with the child, lots of patience and hugs, no scheduling or pushing or crying it out, and so on. To me, AP means parenting with compassion. And it's taxing. No lie; cosleeping and slinging and long-term nursing are hard work. But it's worth it. We're building a childhood for Matthew, and we want to do it as well as we can.