10 Days of Gratitude- Day Seven

Oh boy, when I look back on my earlier parenting days, its hard to know whether to laugh or cry.  In some ways, things were very, very good.  Like the fact that I really savored little baby Noah, and I loved being a mom.  But I had no idea how much I would learn!  (And am still learning!)

It's nice to start out so poorly in some areas, because a few years down the road, it is so easy to see progress.  If you can believe this, when Noah was really little, like a baby little, he went to bed when we did, which was midnight.  Yes, seriously.  I had no comprehension of how to teach my child how to sleep.  I remember trying and then feeling like I failed miserably after about three or four days and just giving up and taking what seemed like the "easiest route" then.  Noah was such a flexible boy that he would go to bed at midnight and sleep til' ten.  He didn't even get cranky.  Instead, he got a second wind around eight p.m.  It wasn't until he was three years old, that we finally (!) got him on a reasonable sleep schedule.

And then my darling Amalie came.  I used to not understand why some parents were so strict about their children's naps.  I mean, what was the big deal of missing a nap, or delaying it a little bit?  And then I had Amalie.  Oh boy, she taught us quickly not to delay her nap, or she would scream loudly, and be inconsolable until we put her in her rightful place- her crib.  I couldn't even hold her for fear of dropping her, she would flail all over the place in her little baby meltdown.  I still remember when she was just a few months old, we took her swimming and kept her out an hour or so past her nap.  I figured she would just fall asleep on the way home, and then we'd transfer her to the crib. 

Nope, she wasn't having it.  She screamed the entire thirty minute car ride home.  I was shocked!  I mean, aren't babies supposed to love those lulling car rides? 

She did this every time we delayed her nap, even by a few minutes.  So we quickly learned it wasn't worth it to deal with a screaming, tantrum-throwing baby and protected her nap times. And suddenly I understood those mothers who guard their babies nap times jealously.  Because it's just not worth it!

It's funny, but it's nice to have different personalities in the family.  I love that I can relate more to other people.  That I can learn to grow as a person and adapt and expand my view. 

It's not easy in the moment, but I can see the beauty in it. I am starting to see that the challenges that come with parenthood, as I seek to understand what to do, how to handle them- help me to grow.  For awhile there, the solution I was seeking was, "How can I change my child?"

Well, you can guess what the answers to my prayers were- I was stunned that every time, it was me who needed to change.  And now, that makes perfect sense, since that is the only person I truly have control over.  But at the time, it was beyond frustrating.

I, the one who hates change, am learning to become more adaptable, more flexible in dealing with these precious little ones.  I am so grateful for inspiration, for inspired parenting books, and inspired advice from friends and family.  What a blessing!