Saturday, June 03, 2006
Maybe Sleeping Habits Run In the Family
What is up with Spangler kids not wanting to go to sleep? :) I'm just going to guess that this thing is common to all children, and not just our kids.
As for what Jessie said about being in charge and choosing to go with what the kiddo needs- AMEN sister. We have come to the conclusion that we can be in charge and still be following Addie's cues a bit. Sounds so contradictory, but we make the choice and our choice is not to go insane! We choose to rock Addie to sleep for now because she will fall asleep much faster, sleep better, and sleep longer. When we tried to force her to fall asleep on her own by letting her cry, not only would it take 30-45 minutes of torturous screaming, but then she would sleep restlessly and wake up crying (now she wakes up happy). So though some say that now Addie is in charge, she isn't, it's our choice to do it this way.
When we got into this new adventure we were SET that we would call the shots and that Addie would fit in around our existing family, not us fitting in around her. Though I still think that is a right concept, I think that when a child is very young you have to adjust around their needs, whether you like it or not. It doesn't mean that you aren't the boss, it just means that as the boss, you know it is necessary, but only for a time.
As for reading to Alli and it requiring great patience, that's what I have found with Addie too. My patience is tested more now than ever and I'm sure it will continue to be more so in the future. I have several times said to the Lord "No, I want it to work another way," and when the situation didn't change I had to think "maybe God wants it this way right now, maybe my character development in this situation is more important than whether Addie goes to sleep in a certain way." The thing is, one day it will all be a distant memory that Addie would cry and scream for what seemed like eternity, but I will have always gained the relationship development with the Lord. I will remember those times when I had to depend on Him minute by minute or second by second for strength and though I thought I couldn't do it, He got me through the day. I'm sure you guys know all about this. :)
A funny anecdote from our house today- we put Addie down for her nap and she was normal, but when she woke up, her bottom lip was all purple. I was shocked and tried to figure out what happened- was it from sucking on her blue dress or her purple blanket? No, the child had given herself a lip hicky from sucking it during her nap. Proof of how hard she can suck and why nursing was so difficult in the beginning... I will post some pictures of it on our blog later if you want to see.
Love you guys!
Niki
As for what Jessie said about being in charge and choosing to go with what the kiddo needs- AMEN sister. We have come to the conclusion that we can be in charge and still be following Addie's cues a bit. Sounds so contradictory, but we make the choice and our choice is not to go insane! We choose to rock Addie to sleep for now because she will fall asleep much faster, sleep better, and sleep longer. When we tried to force her to fall asleep on her own by letting her cry, not only would it take 30-45 minutes of torturous screaming, but then she would sleep restlessly and wake up crying (now she wakes up happy). So though some say that now Addie is in charge, she isn't, it's our choice to do it this way.
When we got into this new adventure we were SET that we would call the shots and that Addie would fit in around our existing family, not us fitting in around her. Though I still think that is a right concept, I think that when a child is very young you have to adjust around their needs, whether you like it or not. It doesn't mean that you aren't the boss, it just means that as the boss, you know it is necessary, but only for a time.
As for reading to Alli and it requiring great patience, that's what I have found with Addie too. My patience is tested more now than ever and I'm sure it will continue to be more so in the future. I have several times said to the Lord "No, I want it to work another way," and when the situation didn't change I had to think "maybe God wants it this way right now, maybe my character development in this situation is more important than whether Addie goes to sleep in a certain way." The thing is, one day it will all be a distant memory that Addie would cry and scream for what seemed like eternity, but I will have always gained the relationship development with the Lord. I will remember those times when I had to depend on Him minute by minute or second by second for strength and though I thought I couldn't do it, He got me through the day. I'm sure you guys know all about this. :)
A funny anecdote from our house today- we put Addie down for her nap and she was normal, but when she woke up, her bottom lip was all purple. I was shocked and tried to figure out what happened- was it from sucking on her blue dress or her purple blanket? No, the child had given herself a lip hicky from sucking it during her nap. Proof of how hard she can suck and why nursing was so difficult in the beginning... I will post some pictures of it on our blog later if you want to see.
Love you guys!
Niki
// posted by Greg, Niki and Addie @ 1:46 PM 
