Decisions

Some decisions are easy to make, but some are really hard. I have come to find out that most of the decisions I make as a mom are hard ones because everything is so important. What time should I put him down for a nap might seem like a silly decision, but depending on which nap it is could determine how the rest of you day goes. What kind of food should I let enter my child's body is an EXTREMELY hard question because some foods that you would like your child to eat, he won't, so you end up settling for the not so ideal sometimes, at least right now until he is older and I can demand more of him.

Now we have entered the phase of more decisions since he is crawling and standing up and overall doing a lot more. We, Joel and I, have decided to do what is called Blanket time. Some of you might have done a version of this with a play pen where they spend a concentrated time alone in a confined area occupying themselves. Blanket time is like this except you have to train them to use self control and not leave the blanket. There are not sides keeping them in. I favor this method for a couple reason. 1. It makes them or should I say gives them the opportunity to obey at all times while they are on the blanket. 2. It is mobil! You can lay down any blanket, and boom you have your boundaries! I have seen this play out before my eyes very successfully and knew that this is what I wanted to impliment in my home. So we started this yesterday. The first time lasted probably less than a minute, before I had to bring him back to the blanket with a firm "no" and a swat on the hand 3 times! So that ended the first session. The second session lasted longer. This is going to be hard, because of course I do NOT like causing my child to cry, but if it is for his benefit, which it is, then it is all worth it.

The next decision I have had to make is what to do about nap and bed time. Nap time is worse. Since he has figured out how to stand up, this is is favorite thing to do especially at nap time. I don't know what it is, but somehow he can be falling asleep while playing, and then the minute I put him in bed...play time!!! I have spent 30 long min. going in and laying him back down just to have him pop right back up again. I have had people tell me to just leave them alone and eventually they will get tired and fall asleep. I didn't feel comfortable with this because I felt like it was giving to much freedom to such a little guy. He doesn't know what is best for him yet. That is why God gave him me! So me leaving him to decide when he will go to sleep wasn't appealing to me. So after much thought, and prayer that the Lord would soften Israel heart to instruction even at this small age, I have decided that deciplinary actions must occur. A wonderful mom whom I highly respect affirmed my decision. So today after laying him down, I went back in there to find him standing up and laughing at me, but in a way that sounded like he knew he wasn't supposed to be standing. After a firm no, I laid him down and he went to sleep. This time was easy and I know they won't all be that way, but I can still be encouraged.