Thursday, November 4, 2010

I let her cry herself to sleep...


... for the first time! Ruki never slept in her own room or even a crib, and she is breastfed and I'm always home with her... but enough was enough! I finally weaned her about 3 weeks ago. Thank God, she has been doing great! But I feel like it is time I start putting my foot down for her sake and for my sanity.

She has been going to daycare for the past couple weeks to enable me to focus on my schoolwork. She only goes 3 days a week, but I have seen vast improvements in some aspects of her conduct. For instance, the child who could not sleep without her mommy by her side, lays down and sleeps for 2 hours every day she is at the daycare. This made me think, hmmm? What am I doing wrong? Why is it so hard to get her down for a nap at home?

It all started with the mug I had just finished eating my vegetable soup out of: "Ruki, don't touch the mug!" But it was too late, before I knew it my favorite mug was shattered to pieces on the floor. It was 1:30pm, an hour after I tried to get her the lay down and go to sleep. I lost it.

I'm usually very much a push over, and Ruki knows it. I told that child to lay down and I meant it. I was stern and unrelenting. She threw a tantrum, she threw pillows off the couch, she screamed at the top of her lungs, and for a last burst of protest, she took off her diaper and threw it as far as she could.

As hard as it was, I just ignored her. I had never done that before. In her 22 months of life, I was always at her beckoning call. While I don't regret my "attachment" form of parenting, I realize that was it time for me to "man-up".

2 comments:

Unknown said...

or "Woman Up!" ;-) Tehe!

sara said...

Way to go, wanna do that too! Weaning was hard, but done, as for sleep, God knows how hardit is, it'll be cleared someday inshaAllah!