Signing "Cold" & "Hot"
I just saw that I haven't written a blog post since the beginning of February. Has time really flown that fast? William has been a force of nature, at least in my life, anyway. It seems we have fallen into our routine, though it's not a strict schedule. I think my son is the antithesis of schedule. He does things on his own time, and I've learned it's easier to adapt to that than to try and get him to stick to a schedule. Routines are better. It also helps that he knows more signs now and can ask for what he wants. And he can say "no" to things he doesn't want, even if he doesn't know the word(s) yet.
Speaking of words, W was taking his bath last night, and he drained the tub of water, which usually signals the end of his bath. But last night, he decided that he'd stay in the empty tub and continue to play. Well, in that time, he demonstrated 2 new signs, though he's heard the words pretty much since he was started chewing on ice: "cold" and "hot" (as it relates to the temperature of the water). You probably could have guessed that, though. Each time the cold water would touch his skin, he'd jump and shiver, and I'd tell him that it's cold. He started signing "cold." Then, he'd touch the other faucet for hot water, and I'd say "hot." Of course, he's mostly heard the word "hot" when talking about food, but he actually did the sign for "hot" for first time! I was so thrilled. Hehe... By the end of the bath, he was using the hot sign for cold water, so I think we still have some work to do, but at least I've seen him do both signs in context, so if I see them outside the tub, I'll be able to distinguish them. (Lately, he's been using the signs for words he already knows for everything, making it hard to decipher what he's trying to tell me.)
Night-weaning has been going well. He makes it from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. most days without nursing at night. However, he still wakes me up several times in the night crying. It's getting better though. Bed-sharing has its definite benefits, but it's also really challenging too. I want to transition him to his own bed and his own room, but it's a very slow process. I suppose if I was willing to let him cry it out (CIO), we could just go cold turkey, but I feel that it's harsh and a form of abandonment. Nights can be long and scary to a small child, and his primary comfort since birth is me, so taking that away without him being able to fully understand what's going on or him asking for it on his own just seems cruel. But, I can sort-of tell (with my mommy senses) that he's getting close to being able to handle it, and even thrive from the change. He can mostly soothe himself back to sleep. Because mostly, when he wakes up crying at night, I don't do very much other than say, "Shhh, it's ok. You can go back to sleep," and he does. He doesn't want me to pat him or touch him (he pushes my hand away), unless he realizes I'm offering the boob.
This morning, I've had a lot on my mind and wasn't able to go back to sleep after waking around 4:30 a.m. Boo. I don't like mornings like that. I relish the extra 3 hours I usually get, when he sleeps until 8:30 or 9:00. But today... Sigh.
Speaking of words, W was taking his bath last night, and he drained the tub of water, which usually signals the end of his bath. But last night, he decided that he'd stay in the empty tub and continue to play. Well, in that time, he demonstrated 2 new signs, though he's heard the words pretty much since he was started chewing on ice: "cold" and "hot" (as it relates to the temperature of the water). You probably could have guessed that, though. Each time the cold water would touch his skin, he'd jump and shiver, and I'd tell him that it's cold. He started signing "cold." Then, he'd touch the other faucet for hot water, and I'd say "hot." Of course, he's mostly heard the word "hot" when talking about food, but he actually did the sign for "hot" for first time! I was so thrilled. Hehe... By the end of the bath, he was using the hot sign for cold water, so I think we still have some work to do, but at least I've seen him do both signs in context, so if I see them outside the tub, I'll be able to distinguish them. (Lately, he's been using the signs for words he already knows for everything, making it hard to decipher what he's trying to tell me.)
Night-weaning has been going well. He makes it from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. most days without nursing at night. However, he still wakes me up several times in the night crying. It's getting better though. Bed-sharing has its definite benefits, but it's also really challenging too. I want to transition him to his own bed and his own room, but it's a very slow process. I suppose if I was willing to let him cry it out (CIO), we could just go cold turkey, but I feel that it's harsh and a form of abandonment. Nights can be long and scary to a small child, and his primary comfort since birth is me, so taking that away without him being able to fully understand what's going on or him asking for it on his own just seems cruel. But, I can sort-of tell (with my mommy senses) that he's getting close to being able to handle it, and even thrive from the change. He can mostly soothe himself back to sleep. Because mostly, when he wakes up crying at night, I don't do very much other than say, "Shhh, it's ok. You can go back to sleep," and he does. He doesn't want me to pat him or touch him (he pushes my hand away), unless he realizes I'm offering the boob.
This morning, I've had a lot on my mind and wasn't able to go back to sleep after waking around 4:30 a.m. Boo. I don't like mornings like that. I relish the extra 3 hours I usually get, when he sleeps until 8:30 or 9:00. But today... Sigh.
I think you are doing a great job with the night weaning! William is sleeping more and more on his own.
ReplyDelete