Not much to say, but I say it anyway. Also, bad mom. Bad!
This morning I didn’t hear from Miss T at all until 4:11, and initially I was so proud of her for sleeping almost all the way through the night! And then I went to put her bottle in the fridge and saw the leftovers of another bottle so I was able to surmise that N had dealt with her previously. Damn.
When I made it back to bed, I noticed that N was sitting up. He appeared awake, so I asked him what time he had fed her. Eleven o’clock, he mumbled, then at 4:00 because of the building. He wears a CPAP mask at night so I thought maybe I hadn’t understood him correctly. After all, it was only 4:30ish at the time and I had just gotten up. He certainly hadn’t been up with her half an hour before. I asked him to repeat himself and he got frustrated. Four o’clock! This is a building, isn’t it?! I said it’s because of the building! HA HA HA! He doesn’t talk in his sleep terribly often, but when he does it is worth the wait.
*****
So, we have no grand plans for July 4. Or if I’m being honest, we really have no plans at all. People at work are all talking about how they are going to New Orleans, or Washington, D.C., or they are going to ride 4-wheelers in the country or whatever. And we are doing absolutely nothing. No plans to visit family, no plans for a picnic or barbeque or anything. We haven’t really done much of anything this summer. On the one hand, I’m fine with that because Miss T is way too young to enjoy a family vacation so it hardly seems worth the hassle and expense. On the other hand, I’m jealous!
*****
Today was the last day of AE’s swimming lessons. Since they have been at 8:00 every morning and N’s work schedule is more flexible than mine today was the only day I went. I feel horrible even thinking this but I really shouldn’t have bothered. They were having a “fun day” which meant the teachers were letting the kids play on the giant lilypads in the big pool and go down the water slide. Except my son is VERY TIMID about trying anything different, so basically for him this amounted to sitting on the edge of the pool or being carried through the water by his instructor. I feel like a really terrible mother for admitting that his timidity seriously frustrates me. In no way can I be categorized as timid, or shy, or unassertive. Yet my son is all of those things and I simply cannot relate. It takes him forever to warm up to a new activity. This poses a problem in situations like swimming lessons where it only lasts two weeks. By the time he’s okay and comfortable in the new routine it is over! I keep telling myself he’ll grow out of it or maybe I’ll get used to it but either way eventually it won’t bother me as much. I hope that’s true because I hate the feeling of being embarrassed by my own child for being such a big scaredy-cat. See? BAD MOM.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
“This is a building, isn’t it?” HA HAHAHA!
My nephew is such a shy, timid kid, too. It is almost painful to watch. He’s 4, and his 2-year-old brother is the EXACT opposite. The 4-year-old used to be terrified of water, whether it was a pool or lake or even a sprinkler. He’d enjoy watching others have fun, but if you suggested he dip his feet in or if you gently splashed water on him, he’d shriek like it was acid.
Apparently, this summer his parents enrolled him in swimming lessons and now he LOVES the water. I don’t know what the reason was (seeing his younger brother practically dive headfirst into the pool or just the peer pressure), but I have yet to see it with my own eyes, so it should be interesting.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I’ll switch places with you and toy can travel with Nathan and Joe to Milwaukee!! I can’t tell you how anxious I am to travel by plane with an almost 4 month old. I’m sure all will be fine, but I’m still nervous.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
My sleep talking husband is generally trying to get me to hand him tools he uses at work. One instance went like this:
“Hand me those snips.”
“The whats?”
“The snips.”
“Hey are you awake?”
*Here’s where he sat up in bed, pulled one of his eyes open with his fingers* “I’M WIDE THE F*&K AWAKE.”
*And then he promptly shut his eyes and began snoring.*
Poor AE. Frustration at shyness in your child does not a bad mom make, especially from a person who isn’t shy. As a shy person myself, before I go into a new situation, it helps me to give myself a pep talk, about how great the new thing is going to be. (“You’re totally going to walk into this bar and get a beer and then someone will talk to you and you’re going to have to talk back to them. Everything will be fine, remain calm. Ready….Set…..GO!!!!”) (In college tequila shots helped as well, but you may need to wait on that one.) Anyway, maybe pep talks from you or N could serve in the meantime, as you approach a new thing and then when he’s a little older he can give his own pep talks.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Too funny about the sleep talking!
Could you do some day trips around your town-kind of like a tourist in your own city. That is something I want to do sometime. We live near DC and I’ve never been there for the 4th.
As for the shyness, my friend’s son was just like that and now (he is going into 5th) he has completely come out of his shell. So much so that he was the welcoming person for the new kids that came to the school. It is amazing how much people can change. I used to be pretty shy myself but not so much now.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
There’s always the George Bush Library fireworks. Went one year, but sat in a distant parking lot. Saw the fireworks just fine and missed all of the traffice jam.
Once Miss T gets a little more mobile, and can join in more things, he will probably warm up to situations. Having two brothers, I had to be adventurous or else I did not get included in anything. He will be okay; just be patient. Remember, when the academic scholarships start coming in, you will look back on these days and laugh!