Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Suffering through the change...

...from crib to toddler bed.

First, it was not my idea! Though I disliked that my back hurt lifting LO in and out, I was perfectly happy with the containment aspect.  LO had climbed/fallen out once and never did it again, even in her ragiest moments.  DH took total initiative on making the changes to LO's room - from switching the crib rail out for the included toddler bed rail, to installing the anti-tip devices on the tall dresser and bookcase, to switching the locks on the bedroom and bath hall access doors so they lock from the outside.

Second, DH isn't the one dealing with "quiet" times which mostly consist of LO stripping herself naked, bouncing on the crib mattress, and spreading varying amounts of stuffed animals and books throughout the room and requiring anywhere from 2-4 visits to do things like turn on the water so she can wash her hands after going potty (she cannot yet reach the handles, even with a step stool).  I am the one who needs the break to reclaim my equanimity, she'd probably do just fine without one. Actually, she does do just fine without it, mostly going to bed at night easier and earlier than if she had gotten the extra sleep.

Thirdly, in general 3 is kicking my ass. Not near as much as the newborn days when I was forever sleep deprived*, but still quite rough.  Things like action swings from LO behaving quite nicely to thrashing on the floor in frustration in the blink of an eye without a discernible reason, the sheer physicality of her wanting to push and pull and even kick (also out of the blue, and seemingly unrelated to attention seeking as those mostly occur when we are already interacting with her - I'd understand more easily if it was part of her repertoire of anger reactions), the bossy-pants of 'you do this' and then anger if I don't do it or say the right thing (even if I'm doing what she wanted me to do). 

Fourth, maybe we should have made this change much earlier so by the time we got to 3 it would have already been rough (I meant to type fought, but either way works).  I don't know.  What we were doing was working.  Was still working.  I'm sure it will work again, I just want it to work now so I can get the break I need! (Color me selfish here.)  I'd write more, but my time's up...




*I was thinking about the overnights of the first year and realized that adding pumping into the mix of feeding really added to the time I had to be up.  If I'd been nursing I could have side nursed and it would have been pretty much diaper & boob time, or if I'd been giving straight bottles I could have had them pre-made and just needed to warm them up (adding a little time), but by pumping I added the time it took to go downstairs and get the supplies & get a bottle set up, do the pumping while feeding LO, then go back downstairs and switch the expressed milk from the pump collectors to the storage containers, and wash the pumping supplies so they were ready for the next time.  No wonder I was tired!






3 comments:

  1. It will get better sooner than you think. Or not, of course, there is always this possibility as well. But I moved George twice, once from cot to toddler bed, and then on to upstairs bunk bed. There are moments and moments, but overall, it is going better than expected. LO might surprise you in a pleasant way in this respect. Wishing you the best of luck.

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  2. Dear, are you alright? Hope you are.
    Enjoy the holidays! Merry Christmas!

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  3. Parenting is one of THE hardest jobs, hands down. People who talk like kids are 100% cute fashion accessories disturb me. That isn't real at all. What you're going through - the good and the bad - means you're engaged and paying attention. I know my twin and I ran the hell out of our parents, bless them.

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