Forwarning: this is going to be a really "blah" post because there are no images.
As I was watching Hazel today, I was getting a little frustrated because she didn't want to eat her lunch. She just sat there and stared at me as I was waiting for her to eat (I needed to put her down for a nap.) She just wouldn't budge. I didn't know what to do; before, when this happened, I would pick up a piece of food and bring it to her mouth to get her started and she would be fine. However, this time, she clenched her teeth shut and wouldn't let anything in. "Oh, you wanna play hard ball,eh?" Just kidding. I did have to feed a now fussy Siena, so I thought if I didn't pay attention to Hazel, she might default into eating. After feeding Siena, I went back to Hazel in her highchair to see if she had eaten her lunch. There she was, face pressed to her tray, in deep sleep. The poor thing! I didn't know that kids don't eat because they are too tired (lesson #1!)
It was a little funny when I lifted her up to clean her up and put her on the bed because there were pieces of food sticking to her face. Still, I felt awful! I wish I would have picked up on it earlier... before she clonked out. I also learned that (gasp!) sometimes kids won't do everything you want them to do (lesson #2.) I realized that I have to learn how to cope with this faster than I thought. Really, anybody who knows me knows that I am extremely determined when I get my mind set on something... sometimes even when it includes my own expectations of other people.
Lastly, I learned that I don't know everything about raising kids. (Again... gasp!) One of the hardest things for me to deal with when Siena was born was listening to people tell me what to do and what not to do with my baby. I had read books and plenty of magazines and had my own idea of how I would take care of her. However, I didn't want people to think of me as a terrible mother because I wasn't following their advice; so I tried to do it all. I quickly found that a lot of the pieces of advice I received conflicted, so I wouldn't be able to please everyone. In frustration, I swore off taking advice. Now I realize that I need advice. I have no clue! No matter how much I read, I couldn't have been completely prepared for this! The responsibility is HUGE and I don't want to mess up. So now I am going to actually listen to the advice I receive, but will only take it as advice, not doctrine (lesson #3.)
Good talk, we should do this more often.
1 comment:
I know exactly how you feel! It is so frustrating when I want Whitney to do something (like EAT!) and she just won't do it. Kids come with a mind of their own...that is a good and bad thing! It's good though, when they become independent, even if it means they don't do things exactly the way you'd like!
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