Bathtime Nonsense.

In my post this morning I said I might write about how Nate has been doing so much better in school. He is, but that will be another day. Because right now I don't like the threenager.

The day hasn't been horrible. Just long and I'm tired and he is tired.

Bath time tonight though.

I'm dealing with the kids solo because Jason had a work dinner to go to. Jason usually does bath. And if by chance I am giving bath, Jason will have Morgan or she goes to bed half way through so he gets the one-on-on time he desperately seeks. He for sure is a "negative attention is better than no attention" type of kid.

Well, tonight, Morgan was still up and I was solo. It started out fine. Fill up the tub, he wanted bubbles, Morgan was playing with a toothbrush...good to go. But then, I don't know what happened, but something switched and psycho Nate came out.

He was throwing toys, splashing water, screaming at the top of his lungs deliberately to scare Morgan...just to push my buttons. Oh, he knows my buttons. He was kicking the water out and threw a water toy car at me and Morgan.

That's when I lost it. I had been calm for the last 5 minutes of his shenanigans. And 5 minutes is a flipping long time. After he threw the car I threw it back in the bathtub at him. And yelled. Loud.

That really only made it worse. I was OVER it. Done. I had lost my cool. The water was already draining so now he was having a meltdown and "freezing cold"(his words). I told him to dry himself off, I threw his towel next to the tub, and walked away. Because I would've yelled more.

I gave myself a breather. I helped him dry off, got him in his pajamas, brushed teeth, picked out a few books, read, and then said goodnight. He was still upset because our normal bedtime routine is HE gets to pick what pajamas, HE gets to help brush teeth, HE gets to pick books. He does mostly everything, which works out most nights.

Not tonight, kiddo. Nope. I win tonight. No choices. No fun.

His bedtime is 7, but I said good night at 6:30 and haven't heard a peep. Peace out, little bath time monster.

We talked about tomorrow will be a better day and about his behavior. He apologized and knew I was serious.

I know we all lose our shit sometimes, right moms??  I try to stay calm and 90% I do with a loud stern voice. Not tonight. I was like psycho mom and yelled probably the loudest I ever had at him. I feel guilty, but NOTHING was getting through to him.

How do you handle yourself in moments like this!?

Transition to a Big Boy Bed: Night 1

January 9, 2015. A date I am writing about because I will forget it in about two weeks. We got a twin bed(free thanks to a friend!) and are starting the transition from crib to big boy boy for Nate. This is a huge deal for me as a mom. I wonder if Nate thinks it is a big deal. Oh to be in the inside of that boy's head.

This is a big deal because it symbolizes change. Just another thing that reminds me Nate is growing and not going to stay a baby forever. In his defense, this wasn't his choice. It was mine. Me, the mom, the one that doesn't want him to grow up. Ironic, huh? There are reasons why I wanted to transition him to a big boy bed.

The biggest reason is Nate has a lot of change coming in his life in the next 6-7 months. There will be a new baby and we are moving. Doesn't seem like much, but they are going to impact him. Having a new sibling and sharing his attention will be tough. When we move, we will be in a hotel, then another hotel, then a new house. All with a newborn. These two things even stress me out. Maybe I am worrying too much? I just feel like his little world is going to be flipped upside down and I want to make sleeping in a bed one thing he doesn't have to worry about.

So how did the first night go? Pretty decent, actually. I thought it was going to be WAY worse. This is what we did...

Kept the same night routine except one thing.
1. Bath time
2. Read books in his new bed. This is what we changed. We normally read in our bed.
3. Brush teeth.
4. Airplane. A nighttime daddy/son thing Jason and Nate do. It is super cute.
5. Tuck Nate in.

We did all that and waited for his bedroom door to open and him to walk out. It didn't happen. He was talking to himself, but then it went silent. Jason and I watched a few shows. Nate started whimpering after about an hour for 3 minutes, then silent. I went to bed a happy mom. At 4:45 Nate started crying. I gave him a couple minutes to calm down, went in to re-tuck him in and went back to bed. He was good for about 20 minutes, then cries again. I cuddled up next to him, ran my fingers through his hair, or lack there of, and we fell asleep together until 8.

I call night 1 a SUCCESS! On to the next night....

Bedtime Routine

I *think* Nate is starting to have a bedtime routine. Sleeping through the night has definitely not happened, but last night I got a 4 hour stretch, 2 hour, then 3 hour. Way better than EVERY 2 hours. Yes, I wish he would sleep a tad longer, but what can you do...the kid wants to eat.

He gets tired around 8:30. I (or Jason) put on his night time diaper, jammies, and "worm him up (swaddle)". I put on his white noise maker, then nurse him for about 20 minutes. Burp, then lay in bassinet and start to rock him away to dreamland. Side note: What do you think babies dream about? Milk? toys? Anyways, I rock him and he is asleep around 9:15-9:30. That hour sometimes go really fast or really sllooowww...depending on the night. It's usually pretty fast. One thing I have realized is I need to start putting the bassinet cover down. There are 2 little bears that hang from it and Nate has made friends with them. He will babble and smile at them until I completely turn off the light and he can't see them anymore. Note to self: no toys when he's older or he'll never go to sleep. I feel like I can already tell he might like to stay up late...we'll see.

Last night I changed 2 things in his routine. One: I pulled the cover with hanging bears down so he couldn't have a late night convo with his besties. Not okay, son. Two: I read some books to him. Normally, I read to him every other day in the day time. I want him to have a love for books and to start hearing the language. I also want him to have bedtime stories. Does any kid not like being read to at night?

I read Time for Bed, Nighty-night, and The Going to Bed Book. They are super short and cute little books. I got Nate in his jammies and sat him on my lap and read to him. I don't know if he was actually listening or paying attention, but he acted like it. He sat on my lap with his little cute hand resting on my arm. He didn't wiggle (which he does A LOT now). It was just a really relaxing little 10 minutes with him. I also enjoyed it because I haven't had much time to read myself, so it was nice to read in bed like "the good ol' days". No, it wasn't an adult book, but when he starts sleeping better I'll get back to my own books. For now, reading about animals going to bed is just fine.

When did you start reading to your kids? Is it something you enjoy? Let me know what your favorite story is (children's or adult)!