What I Like about You
Abbie is frustrating. Big deal; every child is frustrating. Sure, whines a lot, screams hysterically when a stranger enters our home, and tries to eat rocks, but she’s also really quite a bit above average in certain areas compared to her peers.
Abbie is a pretty good sleeper. She may whine and crank all day long, but I know that when I lay her down for the night and close that door, she will drift off to sleep after minimal screaming, and she will almost always stay asleep until I’m ready to wake her up in the morning, or at least contentedly play in her crib until I’m ready to fetch her. Some children are horrible sleepers, staying awake later than Lindsey Lohan at a movie premiere party, stirring several times during the night and insisting someone provide comfort and maybe a little snackypoo before floating back to sleep, or waking up for the day before dawn even has a chance to crack. Her good sleeping habits may be part of her nature, instinctually born into her like the ability to grasp an outstretched finger or the desire to eat dog food. Nevertheless, I like to think that, while other parents wasted their time bonded with their child, I trained her to sleep well early in life through careful adherence to The Schedule despite her protestations. With that outlook, I can hope that the twins will sleep every bit as well, giving me a fighting chance against all that youth when they arrive.
She doesn’t just sleep well, she naps well too.* I can expect her to nap for at least 90 minutes every afternoon, usually more. I’ve heard of other children who take little or no nap at her age, meaning the parents need television, chocolate, or other strong anti-depressants to last through the day. This long nap keeps her well-rested, ensuring minimal crankiness for the rest of the day. Plus her nap gives me the time to accomplish the things I need and want to do, and nothing helps me appreciate being a parent like time away from the attention hog.
Abbie is a great eater. If someone could chart her willingness to eat compared with all other children her age, she would be in the 99th percentile. At this age, most children have something they refuse to eat. Some children don’t like certain meats, but as long as they’re cut into bite size pieces Abbie will devour it. Many children don’t like their vegetables, but I have to plan meal times very carefully so that her veggies are cool enough to eat when she’s ready for them, otherwise she will scream in frustration at having to wait. Some children don’t like dog food, but Abbie will gorge herself on kibble. Okay, that’s a bad example, but look at milk, the most important building block of a young child’s diet, alongside Tasteeos. Some children her age at least periodically refuse to take their milk because it tastes icky or some other vaguely valid reason, but Abbie still downs every last drop in the sippy cup, often howling in frustration when the cup runs dry. Even foods she used to refuse are starting to go down, like lettuce. There was a time when she wouldn’t eat the lettuce I offered from my sandwich, but last night she ate some lettuce right from my taco salad. The only food I can think of that she refuses to eat is potato salad, but I haven’t tried that one recently. I’d be willing to bet that if I went out to the grocery store, picked up a pint of potato salad, dished it out on a plate, set that plate in front of her, and offered her a spoonful of potatoey goodness, that she would prefer to munch on a rock. Once she realized that rocks are not an option, though, I think she would accept the potato salad because that’s the really quite above average child she occasionally decides to be.
* This in spite of the fact that I’m waiting for her to give up and fall asleep as I type this.
Abbie is a pretty good sleeper. She may whine and crank all day long, but I know that when I lay her down for the night and close that door, she will drift off to sleep after minimal screaming, and she will almost always stay asleep until I’m ready to wake her up in the morning, or at least contentedly play in her crib until I’m ready to fetch her. Some children are horrible sleepers, staying awake later than Lindsey Lohan at a movie premiere party, stirring several times during the night and insisting someone provide comfort and maybe a little snackypoo before floating back to sleep, or waking up for the day before dawn even has a chance to crack. Her good sleeping habits may be part of her nature, instinctually born into her like the ability to grasp an outstretched finger or the desire to eat dog food. Nevertheless, I like to think that, while other parents wasted their time bonded with their child, I trained her to sleep well early in life through careful adherence to The Schedule despite her protestations. With that outlook, I can hope that the twins will sleep every bit as well, giving me a fighting chance against all that youth when they arrive.
She doesn’t just sleep well, she naps well too.* I can expect her to nap for at least 90 minutes every afternoon, usually more. I’ve heard of other children who take little or no nap at her age, meaning the parents need television, chocolate, or other strong anti-depressants to last through the day. This long nap keeps her well-rested, ensuring minimal crankiness for the rest of the day. Plus her nap gives me the time to accomplish the things I need and want to do, and nothing helps me appreciate being a parent like time away from the attention hog.
Abbie is a great eater. If someone could chart her willingness to eat compared with all other children her age, she would be in the 99th percentile. At this age, most children have something they refuse to eat. Some children don’t like certain meats, but as long as they’re cut into bite size pieces Abbie will devour it. Many children don’t like their vegetables, but I have to plan meal times very carefully so that her veggies are cool enough to eat when she’s ready for them, otherwise she will scream in frustration at having to wait. Some children don’t like dog food, but Abbie will gorge herself on kibble. Okay, that’s a bad example, but look at milk, the most important building block of a young child’s diet, alongside Tasteeos. Some children her age at least periodically refuse to take their milk because it tastes icky or some other vaguely valid reason, but Abbie still downs every last drop in the sippy cup, often howling in frustration when the cup runs dry. Even foods she used to refuse are starting to go down, like lettuce. There was a time when she wouldn’t eat the lettuce I offered from my sandwich, but last night she ate some lettuce right from my taco salad. The only food I can think of that she refuses to eat is potato salad, but I haven’t tried that one recently. I’d be willing to bet that if I went out to the grocery store, picked up a pint of potato salad, dished it out on a plate, set that plate in front of her, and offered her a spoonful of potatoey goodness, that she would prefer to munch on a rock. Once she realized that rocks are not an option, though, I think she would accept the potato salad because that’s the really quite above average child she occasionally decides to be.
* This in spite of the fact that I’m waiting for her to give up and fall asleep as I type this.
posted by Matt at
9:52 PM
1 Comments:
Well happy birthday a day late. Did you get anything good or do anything fun?
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Anonymous, at 7:37 PM
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