So I've decided that it is tough love week for the kids this week. I am determined to get Jax eating and sleeping better and get Madeline feeding herself. I've decided that I care more about Madeline feeding herself than even potty training right now, so that is becoming priority #1. Here is how it is all going so far:
Jax: Last night I gave in and fed him one time that he woke up, but for the other two times I just let him cry. (Oh, I hate doing this!) And he did it - went back to sleep after not too long. And today, instead of nursing him right before his nap (I never got in this habit with Madeline, but I've fallen into it with Jax), I just went and put him up in his crib and shut the door. Oh, you should have heard the screams. I may have ruined his life a little bit. But, it only lasted about 10 minutes and he went to sleep! Wahoo! I am going to try and keep this up. Still not much interest in the applesauce I tried to feed him, but he did munch on a few puffs. We'll work on it more tomorrow!
Madeline: I strapped her in her high chair tonight and told her that from now on Mommy is not going to put food in her mouth, that Madeline has to eat food all by herself, even if it means staying there all night. So I made this white chicken chili dish (which she likes, is easy to scoop, and stays on the spoon easily - don't want to give her any excuses) and told her to eat her food. She dawdled like crazy like she usually does, played with her cup, painted food on the table (I'll work on stopping that later), sang songs, did ABCs, kept saying she wanted other things, asked for movies, kept saying she needed to go potty - all to avoid eating. She kept saying, "Mommy, help me. I can't do it." But I kept reminding her she had to do it herself. Meanwhile I cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, got Jax ready for bed, etc. and left it up to her. So guess how long her dinner took: 2 hours and 50 minutes! Can you believe a toddler can dawdle that long!!! She is such a determined little thing. (Can you see why we usually just lose our patience and start shoveling in the food for her?) When she finally finished her meal, I made a big deal of it, told her how proud I was of her, and let her have some ice cream for a treat (which she, of course, ate amazingly well all by herself). Maybe tomorrow dinner will be slightly shorter, who knows! But at least we made a step in the right direction tonight.
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5 comments:
Yay! Good for you Lisa! I hope Jax's sleeping keeps up and he sleeps more for you. Also, I don't know if this helps or not, but when Spencer was Jax's age he got tired of baby cereal really fast because he ate it all the time and didn't want it anymore, so I started making instant mashed potatoes and mixing baby food veggies with it and he loved it and it helped him eat better. Just a suggestion.
I am trying to work with Spencer on getting better at using forks and spoons. I used to just feed him a lot because it's easier and cleaner, but now he goes to school and they don't help him with his food when they eat so he needs to learn to do it himself. I am also trying to not cut his food up into little pieces and making him learn how to take bites. I normally cut up his sandwiches and chicken nuggets and other things into bite size pieces, but it is hard to pack a lunch like that for school so he needs to learn how to just eat a sandwich like normal. At least you didn't give in to Madeline! Hopefully she'll learn fast and learn she has to do it herself.
(Sorry this is so long! Miss you! Hope you are doing good!)
Hey Lisa,
I love all your posts! I was so shocked to find I was behind! Way to go with Madeline, and with getting so much done around the house. I'm so amazed! I've been thinking that it is time to start letting William feed himself. He loves it when let him hold the spoon and help him eat. I'm convinced that if he were a second child he'd already be eating by himself (but maybe not--I've never had a second child). I think I'll start that next week.... Thanks for the inspiration!
go Lisa! it's so hard to teach these kiddos to be self-sufficient! hope it's still going well! I have a crazy week this week, but maybe I'll see you next week! I'm not looking forward to when Justin is 6 months old, b/c then I've heard is the "okay" to let them cry-it-out kind of and Jared can't wait to do that to help him sleep through the night! (although he does pretty good already!) it just is so hard to listen to them scream, and yet, 10 minutes isn't much and they're just fine!
Hey - you got Jax eating! How is Madeline doing? NICE JOB MOM!!! Consistency is such an important thing as I have learned the hard way. Your Madeline and our Riddick are going to make some seriously crazy teens with their wills of steel! Hang in there! You are doing GREAT!!!!
Love,
Gwen
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