AHHHHHH!!! After days of brutal attempts to get Ayden to sleep for both naps and bedtime I found a solution....a cozy crib tent. This sounds so simple and once I used it, it was. But it was a lot more then this. The entire experience was a lesson of growth for both Ayden and myself. Ayden is only being a 2 year old boy, but with that comes a new birth. A separation that needs to take place. I know all this from a professional standpoint, but let me tell you, going through it in a personal experience is MUCH different. Ayden is learning that he is no longer part of me, and that he can go out into the world and be his own person. Although, with this comes a lot of questions and feelings that have not surfaced until now...fear, loss, excitement, anger, etc... Ayden needs to push and pull to gain control over himself and his environment. Yet, with this push and pull comes a lot of confusion and frustration for myself. I then begin to experience the same feelings that are being aroused in Ayden . I was lost, out of control, and angry!! Until I could own these feelings and then find the support and holding I needed from the world was I able to gain the control over myself. I had to realize that I can do this. I am a strong independent woman with the tools and growth to believe that everything is going to be ok, and that I can get through this, and not everything needed to fall apart. So... I found myself at the park one afternoon searching for someone to hold me. And there she was, a friend. I found her and I reached out to her. And she was there to help guide me and I allowed her. She suggested another approach to Ayden's jumping out of his crib, bed, and gate. A crib tent. It was a simple solution but it also had to come with the idea behind it that I could trust myself. Ayden and I needed structure, boundaries, and containment to know it is ok to go outinto the world and be our own person. We all need a cocoon to become a butterfly.
1 comment:
Suzanne, this is so true. I used to find this to be the case in my classroom as well--that restrictions, or limits and boundaries, made my students happier, gave them the space to learn. The twos are just so hard but I think that we have to give in a little to the nuttiness (like what you are saying) and go with it. The last time my mom was in town, Norah threw a tantrum and I was, of course, exasperated. I remember my mom holding Norah and saying, "It's ok honey, you are just trying to grow up, aren't you? Its ok." It was good for me to hear that.
Post a Comment