No Questions Asked
Abbie wears pajamas when she naps. That seems odd to me since I don’t wear pajamas when I nap. When naptime rolls around, I’m too exhausted to care what I’m wearing.
Abbie insists on wearing pajamas to fall asleep, though. If I’ve learned anything about parenting in the last two-plus years, and sometimes I wonder if I have, I’ve learned not to question or fight anything that helps your child fall asleep. The boys want their cow blankets to snuggle with while sleeping, so I make sure each crib has a blanket before leaving the room, and I check the crib first thing to see if it’s been thrown out when I have to walk back in two minutes later to calm a screaming child. Abbie wants burp clothes to snuggle with while sleeping, so she gets three of them. The children want to snuggle with mommy and daddy at night, so they get lots of training on how to fall asleep by themselves because I’m not going down that road.
Part of Abbie’s extensive pre-nap routine involves changing her diaper, and slipping her pajamas on instead of putting her pants back on. That helps me save time by accomplishing two chores at once, and that’s important since I always read one last book a minimum of three times before putting them away.
I generally reuse the same pajamas for every sleep time until given a good reason to change, such as the pajamas retain their shape when taken off the child. Yesterday’s pajamas were a flannel two-piece set that were quite soft and comfortable, but more importantly adorned with Dora the Explorer. Apparently, her overnight diaper leaked and moistened her pajama bottoms. The leak might have soaked her bed, but the strategically snuggled burp cloth under her midsection did its job last night. As a responsible parent, I noticed this leak as soon as the overpowering stench of dried urine wafted near my nose. I suppose some sort of super-responsible parent might have noticed her pajama bottoms were wet when she woke up, but I’m still dealing with a sick and frequently screaming Tory.
Foul odor is reason enough for me to change pajamas, so I threw them into the laundry hamper* and pulled out a fresh pair. This was a very cute one-piece set with flowers and fairies. They did not have Dora, though. Abbie fought me while I tried to slip them on her while declaring “Hee-yaa,” which is how she pronounces “Dora.” That pronunciation ordinarily sounds beautiful after I’ve struggled to pry any word out of her for the past 18-months, but it’s not so great when she’s insisting on wearing a urine-soaked outfit to bed.
I managed to slip the replacement pajamas on her frame with constant reassurances about how cute they are and how she’s a big girl for wearing them. I could not make her leave them on, though, and she unzipped them while I read her second “one last book.”
After wondering just how urine-soaked is too urine-soaked, I remembered another pair of pajamas in her drawer. This was a two-piece outfit like her Dora pajamas, but they were cotton and had flowers instead of Doras (Dori?). I slipped them on her, a task made easier by her nakedness, and hoped for the best.
Abbie pointed to the new flowers on her chest, and deemed them acceptable. We completed the pre-nap routine, and soon she was asleep. Apparently, she just wanted the ease of movement with two-pieces instead of the warmth of a one-piece outfit. Whatever helps her fall asleep.
* That’s what I call the patch of floor just outside their door.
Abbie insists on wearing pajamas to fall asleep, though. If I’ve learned anything about parenting in the last two-plus years, and sometimes I wonder if I have, I’ve learned not to question or fight anything that helps your child fall asleep. The boys want their cow blankets to snuggle with while sleeping, so I make sure each crib has a blanket before leaving the room, and I check the crib first thing to see if it’s been thrown out when I have to walk back in two minutes later to calm a screaming child. Abbie wants burp clothes to snuggle with while sleeping, so she gets three of them. The children want to snuggle with mommy and daddy at night, so they get lots of training on how to fall asleep by themselves because I’m not going down that road.
Part of Abbie’s extensive pre-nap routine involves changing her diaper, and slipping her pajamas on instead of putting her pants back on. That helps me save time by accomplishing two chores at once, and that’s important since I always read one last book a minimum of three times before putting them away.
I generally reuse the same pajamas for every sleep time until given a good reason to change, such as the pajamas retain their shape when taken off the child. Yesterday’s pajamas were a flannel two-piece set that were quite soft and comfortable, but more importantly adorned with Dora the Explorer. Apparently, her overnight diaper leaked and moistened her pajama bottoms. The leak might have soaked her bed, but the strategically snuggled burp cloth under her midsection did its job last night. As a responsible parent, I noticed this leak as soon as the overpowering stench of dried urine wafted near my nose. I suppose some sort of super-responsible parent might have noticed her pajama bottoms were wet when she woke up, but I’m still dealing with a sick and frequently screaming Tory.
Foul odor is reason enough for me to change pajamas, so I threw them into the laundry hamper* and pulled out a fresh pair. This was a very cute one-piece set with flowers and fairies. They did not have Dora, though. Abbie fought me while I tried to slip them on her while declaring “Hee-yaa,” which is how she pronounces “Dora.” That pronunciation ordinarily sounds beautiful after I’ve struggled to pry any word out of her for the past 18-months, but it’s not so great when she’s insisting on wearing a urine-soaked outfit to bed.
I managed to slip the replacement pajamas on her frame with constant reassurances about how cute they are and how she’s a big girl for wearing them. I could not make her leave them on, though, and she unzipped them while I read her second “one last book.”
After wondering just how urine-soaked is too urine-soaked, I remembered another pair of pajamas in her drawer. This was a two-piece outfit like her Dora pajamas, but they were cotton and had flowers instead of Doras (Dori?). I slipped them on her, a task made easier by her nakedness, and hoped for the best.
Abbie pointed to the new flowers on her chest, and deemed them acceptable. We completed the pre-nap routine, and soon she was asleep. Apparently, she just wanted the ease of movement with two-pieces instead of the warmth of a one-piece outfit. Whatever helps her fall asleep.
* That’s what I call the patch of floor just outside their door.
posted by Matt at
11:24 PM
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