I used to think that maybe I was just a little too uptight of a parent–I bathed Kwabena every night before bed…tried to set a routine bedtime…tried to provide a balanced meal every evening….etc. But in the last few months, I have become very lax. Now, I don’t bother bathing Kwabena every day, unless he truly needs one. Otherwise, it might be every 2 or 3 days, with wipe-downs in between. I used to ensure he bathed nightly so that he associated bath with “night-night” and he would go to sleep easier. Sure enough, I think it worked because lately he’s been having a harder time falling asleep, as well as, not wanting to sit and focus on eating.
Lately my lack of scheduling and setting routines has contributed to Kwabena 1) taking naps whenever, and for however long, 2) going to bed at whatever time, 3) taking up to an hour to fall asleep (which is bothersome to me not only because he needs a full-night’s sleep, but because I still lie down with him at night, and believe me–it’s exhausting to stay there for up to an hour waiting for him to fall asleep!), and 4) me walking around FEEDING him because he’s more interested in playing than understanding that ____[fill in the blank]_____o’clock is breakfast-, lunch-, or dinner-time.
I’ve decided that we’ve got to get some schedule back into his life. He needs consistent times to eat, to nap, to go to bed, etc. It’s getting harder and harder to manage the life of a toddler if there’s no structure.
So here’s to a more structured 2009!
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