Tonight, Rich would not go to sleep. He cried and cried and cried and Karen couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally, she suggested I go up and help him. When I walked into the room, he was standing in his crib, facing the window. He didn't even notice I was there until I picked him up. Tears were streaming down his face and he looked so, so scared. I held him and rocked him and said over and over again, "You don't need to be scared, little boy. We love you so much." I spent time with him and he eventually calmed down. I put him down in his crib and handed him his stuffed dog, and he gave me a big smile. Not a peep came out of him from then on and he went right to sleep.
Who knows what he needed or wanted. For all we know he could've been saying, "Daddy! Daddy!" or, "I want more yogurt!".
Sometimes I just don't care what books and people say. Every kid is different, but ultimately they all just need to be loved. That's the best advice, and the one that makes the most sense to me. I mean come on, I have a math brain, and loving your children seems to make the most sense anyway.
I read this last night right before going to bed, so then I dreamed about Richie! It was a sweet night.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he was doing what you use to do. You would be so excited about your new skill of learning to pull yourself up, that even when you were so totally exhausted you would practice it...then you would forget how to get down and would just stand there crying until someone would come in and rescue you. You even tried it a few times in the middle of the night. I would go in and feel so sorry for you standing there desperately waiting.
I love your story Tyler. Every little guy should have parents who care so much.
Thanks, Mom! Yeah, that sounds a lot like what Rich is doing. He seems to be very proud of his accomplishment and likes to do it as often as he can. A lot of the time he stands by his crib and holds on to the posts (from the outside, I mean) while I'm working at my desk, and he turns around and smiles at me. I think he just likes to show us that he's becoming more like us. He must know we're proud of him too.
DeleteUsually my name is printed in bold. But thats ok, I'll let this one slide.
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Most people long to even be mentioned in my blog. But that's okay, I'll let this one slide.
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