Parenting decisions and 10.5 months of Finn
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We went to St. Edwards Park today, which was approximately a 5 minute drive from our house and loads of fun. We took a short walk and Finn tolerated the backpack. We stopped to let him play with his feet in the sand before continuing on to the grass/play area. Finn is hesitant about grass, so he went to the edge of the blanket and dropped his toys "over the edge" to see what would happen. Eric and I gave each other parenting breaks and took Finn into the play area to explore and swing. It was a really relaxing afternoon!
Eric and I decided not to go to Alaska on vacation this week, which was a sad and painful decision to make at the time. I really want to see my aunt, her family and the country up there, but I had to go with my mama intuition that this is not a good time for Finn. He's not happy being confined, so he really needs safe places to roam. He doesn't want to see Alaska from the car right now or from a backpack. So, we have been installing more childproofing and finding ways to compromise our enjoyment and his need for speed.
I have also made a few more parenting decision this week that feel positive. We turned his car seat around after I discussed his situation at length with my shrink. We decided it's not worth the mental anguish to wait another 1.5 months until he is a year old. He is tall enough and heavy enough to face forward. This has already decreased the stress level in the house A LOT. Finn, of course, loves facing forward and being part of the driving experience. I am also being more liberal with giving him medication because he is either very sensitive to his teething pain, has the worst teething pain ever or has very prolonged teething... or maybe something in between. In any case, I can't estimate how that pain is affecting him emotionally and developmentally right now and it seems worth the risk to respond to it daily if need be for a while. I try not to give him Motrin too frequently, but last night when he woke up holding his mouth and trying to shove it into the mattress after several hours of crying in his sleep in pain, I did not hesitate to get the Motrin out. We made an appointment to talk with his pediatrician this Wednesday about how to approach his pain, if there could be another cause of his pain such as reflux and how best to deal with our sleep challenges.
This leads to another big change- Finn has not been napping in the afternoon, so I have been letting him stay up later in the morning and moving his nap schedule to a more mid-day schedule. Now he naps for 2 hours mid-day and skips an afternoon nap. I am sure this won't be consistent every day for a while, but he seems better rested in the evening before bed. I'm still getting in the crib with him to put him to sleep and at nap time, but this is better than him sleeping alone on the bed, in the car or not at all. Not at all has been our regular routine lately. I leave him once he's asleep. I know he's supposed to be learning to fall asleep on his own right now, but between his congestion from his cold and his teething pain, I think it's okay to need his mommy for a while. We did have him regularly falling asleep on his own, but that got lost some 6 weeks ago and now we have lost all track of a pattern.
I also recognize that Finn needs more time to cruise, so my life is going to be adjusted so that he can either be at home, on a lawn, in a child play area or on a play date more regularly and not confined in a car seat or the backpack. He just needs to move. I get that. We can make changes for him.
So, that's this week/month/year/blur in parenting. Another lesson in doing my best with the knowledge that I have and letting go of what I cannot control.
Sleep well, Finn.
We went to St. Edwards Park today, which was approximately a 5 minute drive from our house and loads of fun. We took a short walk and Finn tolerated the backpack. We stopped to let him play with his feet in the sand before continuing on to the grass/play area. Finn is hesitant about grass, so he went to the edge of the blanket and dropped his toys "over the edge" to see what would happen. Eric and I gave each other parenting breaks and took Finn into the play area to explore and swing. It was a really relaxing afternoon!
Eric and I decided not to go to Alaska on vacation this week, which was a sad and painful decision to make at the time. I really want to see my aunt, her family and the country up there, but I had to go with my mama intuition that this is not a good time for Finn. He's not happy being confined, so he really needs safe places to roam. He doesn't want to see Alaska from the car right now or from a backpack. So, we have been installing more childproofing and finding ways to compromise our enjoyment and his need for speed.
I have also made a few more parenting decision this week that feel positive. We turned his car seat around after I discussed his situation at length with my shrink. We decided it's not worth the mental anguish to wait another 1.5 months until he is a year old. He is tall enough and heavy enough to face forward. This has already decreased the stress level in the house A LOT. Finn, of course, loves facing forward and being part of the driving experience. I am also being more liberal with giving him medication because he is either very sensitive to his teething pain, has the worst teething pain ever or has very prolonged teething... or maybe something in between. In any case, I can't estimate how that pain is affecting him emotionally and developmentally right now and it seems worth the risk to respond to it daily if need be for a while. I try not to give him Motrin too frequently, but last night when he woke up holding his mouth and trying to shove it into the mattress after several hours of crying in his sleep in pain, I did not hesitate to get the Motrin out. We made an appointment to talk with his pediatrician this Wednesday about how to approach his pain, if there could be another cause of his pain such as reflux and how best to deal with our sleep challenges.
This leads to another big change- Finn has not been napping in the afternoon, so I have been letting him stay up later in the morning and moving his nap schedule to a more mid-day schedule. Now he naps for 2 hours mid-day and skips an afternoon nap. I am sure this won't be consistent every day for a while, but he seems better rested in the evening before bed. I'm still getting in the crib with him to put him to sleep and at nap time, but this is better than him sleeping alone on the bed, in the car or not at all. Not at all has been our regular routine lately. I leave him once he's asleep. I know he's supposed to be learning to fall asleep on his own right now, but between his congestion from his cold and his teething pain, I think it's okay to need his mommy for a while. We did have him regularly falling asleep on his own, but that got lost some 6 weeks ago and now we have lost all track of a pattern.
I also recognize that Finn needs more time to cruise, so my life is going to be adjusted so that he can either be at home, on a lawn, in a child play area or on a play date more regularly and not confined in a car seat or the backpack. He just needs to move. I get that. We can make changes for him.
So, that's this week/month/year/blur in parenting. Another lesson in doing my best with the knowledge that I have and letting go of what I cannot control.
Sleep well, Finn.