Of all the things I have discovered as a result of my choice to have my baby beside me at night, this has helped me the most. But it is not the sort of quantifiable help that can be recounted to a pediatrician. Rather, it is the sort of help that shows a mama that she is raising a whole person. A person that, even at only 16 months old, is storing and recalling memories. As a mama, I try to remember this, because I have a huge impact on the sort of memories Goen creates. I admit, there are days when I wish a good night's sleep would eradicate a difficult yesterday (though sometimes it seems that a sleepless night is better at accomplishing this), but history is meant to be a teacher. And, while it can be important to know that a toddler has indeed gotten a full night's sleep, or needs to be changed and fed, the kind of help I really need is the simple knowledge that my little one may just remember all the good things he has in his life. Now, if only I could sleep as long as he does, perhaps I could remember this for myself.
Having my baby sleep next to me every night has provided me a lot of information. I know how often he wakes up, how long he sleeps, when he needs to be changed, and when he needs to eat. But one surprising thing I learned relates to his capacity to remember. For example, one night he discovered the extension cord hidden behind the bed and was tugging on it and playing with it. I gently pulled it away from him and shoved it back as far as it would go, hoping that the dark would hinder his ability to find it. He was unable to get it and quickly resumed nursing until he went to sleep a short time later. Fast forward eleven hours to the next morning. Goen woke up, popped his head up, and immediately went to the back of the bed and started fishing around for the cord. He had picked up right where he left off the night before. I can't help wondering if he had been dreaming about it all night. On another night, David went out to run an errand after I had taken Goen to bed. He opened and then closed the garage door (which can be heard through the whole house). Goen was not yet asleep so he popped up when he recognized the sound. I eased him back down and he soon went to sleep. The next morning, as soon as he awoke, Goen crawled off the bed and ran to the other room (where my husband usually sleeps) to see if he was there. He was, and I can only assume that Goen's mind was put to rest.
Of all the things I have discovered as a result of my choice to have my baby beside me at night, this has helped me the most. But it is not the sort of quantifiable help that can be recounted to a pediatrician. Rather, it is the sort of help that shows a mama that she is raising a whole person. A person that, even at only 16 months old, is storing and recalling memories. As a mama, I try to remember this, because I have a huge impact on the sort of memories Goen creates. I admit, there are days when I wish a good night's sleep would eradicate a difficult yesterday (though sometimes it seems that a sleepless night is better at accomplishing this), but history is meant to be a teacher. And, while it can be important to know that a toddler has indeed gotten a full night's sleep, or needs to be changed and fed, the kind of help I really need is the simple knowledge that my little one may just remember all the good things he has in his life. Now, if only I could sleep as long as he does, perhaps I could remember this for myself.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Carley Biblin
Hi. My name is Carley. I love to sew, craft, and create. As a Jane-of all-crafts so to speak, I enjoy sewing, writing, cooking, drawing, photographing. But the constant thread (if you'll excuse the pun) throughout my weeks is needle arts. Archives
January 2017
Categories
All
|