Adapting

The past two weeks have brought quite a few changes for my daily WAHM routine:


At 20 months, Mr. Max has decided that sleeping in a crib is a thing of the past.  We bravely transitioned him to his "big boy" bed after several nights of him repeatedly climbing out of his crib and causing all kinds of ruckus in the house, including trying to shave his non-existent beard in the dark bathroom while I tried to muster up the energy to roll out of bed to put him back in his crib AGAIN.

His "big boy" bed is a twin mattress and box spring on the ground near the crib.  He has transitioned marvelously!  Although moves around a bit before going to sleep, he has been doing really well at getting himself to sleep before too long and without too much intervention.  I was anxious about how this would affect his naps, and how much more time I would need to devote to putting him back in bed without the barrier of the crib rails to keep him from playing in his room.  It's been about a week and half since the transition, and he's doing great!  Yesterday, I was able to do our "normal" nap time routine, and he crawled into bed without even seeming that tired.  Within 15-20 minutes, he was sleeping soundly in his bed.  As a WAHM, I am extra thankful for this because every minute of nap time is precious work time for me!  The only major adjustment I am making is that I bring my computer upstairs to work in the living room until he falls asleep.  That way I am close by to remind him that he needs to stay in bed.  After he is asleep, I move back to my basement office to work for the rest of his nap.

Mr. Max has also decided that sleeping until 8 am is for the birds.  He suddenly wants to be an early riser, getting up anywhere between 6-7am.  This has been the hardest adjustment for me, since I typically was able to get 2 hours or work done before he woke up in the morning.  Now, that has dwindled to anywhere from 0-60 minutes, depending on when his little feet pitter-patter across the kitchen floor.

Partially to counteract that lost time, I signed up for a membership at a local YMCA.  So far, I love it!  As part of the membership, Max can go to their kids program for 2 hours each day.  My intention is to use that time mostly for work, and hopefully squeeze in a short workout when I can.  Since I'm 8 months pregnant, spending hours on the treadmill is not a high priority of mine anyway.  In the fall, I might make more of an effort to get in that workout.  :)

I have never joined a gym before mostly because, well, I'm too cheap.  I've never been able to justify the expense when I can just run outside FOR FREE.  But now, I look at the cost as covering some much-loved childcare PLUS access to a pool, which will be nice for family outings and teaching our little guy how to swim.  I also feel a little better about managing WAHM-hood with two kiddos next year, knowing that I'll at least have some time for me and to work each day when we go to the gym.

Oh, one more thing...

Max suddenly has become far too mature to be confined to a high chair.  He puts up a huge fuss about using his high chair tray, and often won't even let me buckle him into the seat, which can also function as a booster by the table.  While this is probably a tricky transition for a lot of parents, I really really liked that time in the high chair.  After I ate or read bible stories with him, I would often use the time to get some quick housework done or answer a few emails.  Maybe not the most ideal parenting strategy, but, hey, you do what you have to do sometimes!  Now, I mostly give reminders, warnings, and try to train him to handle the freedom of sitting at the table.  *Sigh*

After many months of a having a consistent routine, the changes in the past weeks have both been hard and refreshing.  With each new "milestone," I find myself being challenged as a parent, which is another opportunity to grow, learn, and sometimes pull my hair out.   :-P

Carry on!