CLINGY!!!
For those of you who don't watch Sesame Street daily, "What's the word on the street" is what Murray says to find the word of the day...and his voice saying it is often in my head throughout the day, hence the title.
Anywho, Leo is definitely going through a clingy phase. I can hardly do anything without him crawling over to me and sitting on my feet while he tries to pull himself up to my legs and whine until I pick him up. And leaving the room he is in??? Forget about it!!!
My mom's theory is that he is going through a clingy phase anyway and then because we have been out of sorts for the last week and a half (vacation...i.e. unfamiliar surroundings and not sleeping at home, etc.) it has been exacerbated. Whatever the reasoning, the boy is seriously clingy right now. In fact he won't even sleep alone! He has been cuddling up with me for way too many nights now. It's not that it isn't cute or that I don't like sleeping next to him...it is awfully cute to hear him breathe and such...but at some point he has to sleep by himself again. Not to mention the fact that I am exhausted. Seriously.
So tonight was the night. We are finally back at home for more than one night (we have a whole 2 weeks before our next night away) and so tonight he was going to sleep in his bed no matter what. During our 9 month well-check last week (more on that to come) our pediatrician told us that it is okay to just let him cry it out...um, surely he has never been a parent, right? Actually he has 2 little boys but any parent knows that it is super hard to listen to your child cry- especially since I have total control over it.
He only cried 40 minutes tonight; it was hard core screaming though the whole time and Nick even got teary after going in once. He is however currently asleep in the fetal position. Ugh- parenting sucks!
5 comments:
Haha. You must be a really nice mom. Letting Olivia cry it out was hard at first. Now we do it all the time. :) (Well, not ALL the time, luckily, but let's just say it does not pull at my heartstrings the way it used to.) Best of luck with sweet baby Leo!
Here's my advice: ear plugs. Seriously. I couldn't stand the baby crying any other way and if it gets to that really bad, you really need to get them stage, you'll hear it through the ear plugs.
It usually took three nights for my kids to go right to bed after we started the "let them cry it out" thing. First night is always the longest...about an hour. Second night is noticeably less time and the third night was only about ten minutes or so. It is really hard though. I think with Lorelai Clark had me go to the store the first night so that I wouldn't be tempted to go get her. It is so nice once it is done though. Clingy is hard! Do you ever leave him with a babysitter or friend? The earlier we leave kids with a babysitter and more frequently the better they do in general as well...something to consider.
I had a really hard time just listening to Andrew scream when he was little. I liked the Baby Whisperer way of going about it, which I would describe as building independence while still letting them know you are there for them. Have you read it? It still takes time and patience, but I felt a lot better about her method than just letting him scream. Growing up is tough, though, no matter how you go about it. Good luck! We'll be praying for all of you.
I would like to retract my previous comment and update it with this:
GETTING A SMALL CHILD TO SLEEP IS HARD.
The end.
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