Time Out

To time out or not to time out, that is the question. Tonight I chose to time out. Kaden seems to have a bit of an anger issue and I figured I am going to try to physically discipline him as little as possible. For those who know me, I do believe in spanking, but only when it is appropriate and constructive, and never out of anger.

So, I could hear Kaden climbing on the dinning room table and I heard my center piece (which is made of glass) clanging. So, I ran over and as I have done before, I told him NO, gave his hand a flick, picked him up and placed him on the floor. At which time with one swoop of his arm he knocked over a dinning room chair in protest. So, in this instance I chose not to strike him again and grabbed his little butt and placed it in time out. Which happened to be the closest corner available with no toys in reach. I stood over him for a minute and allowed him to finish crying. I then picked him up and hugged him and told him again. Mommy said no climbing, keep your feet on the floor. Well, this sent him into a fit again and he wormed out of my arms and ran away......straight back to time out!!!!!! He proceeded to cry again for another minute and a half.

Yes that is right, my crazy kid wanted to spend MORE time in time out! I didn't know what to do so I let him sit there. When he was done whimpering, I asked if he was tired and wanted to get his pajamas on and he said yes and we headed to his room. I tell you I am amazed at this process called parenting. I just never know what to expect.

Then the analyzer in me started to wonder. Is it that he is trying to show his power and wanted to show me I will get out when I am good and ready; and you can't tell me when. Or, is it that he just needs to be alone and work through his problems on his own and doesn't want or need my affection? And, what is his issue with anger. Why must he throw and knock things over in protest and anger? What kind of man will he grow up to be....am I helping or hurting the situation. What kind of mother am I?

Then I just remember he is a one year old who was tired and he probably doesn't even know what he was doing or why he was doing it. But it sure was entertaining.

Toddler Bed and Eli update

Kaden is officially a toddler now. The house has been cleaned out of anything babyish (diapers excluded). Kaden's crib was taken down after he became a pro at climbing out. See video below.

I was very scared that the transition would be very painful, for both Kaden's bottom and for my lack of sleep. But we are full of praises as we are all are pain free! We started the transition on Thursday night and let him watch us take apart the crib in hopes that way he would know what happened to it. We ran into a little road bump when it came to putting the side rails on. The side rails we got are not made for toddler beds and would not fit! I can't remember where I had heard, but someone told me to use a pool noodle and put it under the sheet, that way there was just enough of a bump to keep them from falling out. Well, our pool noodle is a little whimpy (that's what happens when you get them at Big Lots) so I wrapped it in a blanket and it works great!

We kept him up until he was really drowsy and he went down with zero escape attempts. Friday nap time zero escape attempts. Friday bed time zero escape attempts. Saturday nap time was a different story.....I think like 4 escape attempts, 2 small swats and an hour later came sleeping. After this adventure, I wondered how 18 month olds know how to fake like they are sleeping. I was watching in the video monitor and saw him get out. So I ran into his room and he immediately jumped and sailed into the bed, put his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. I couldn't believe it. Fadi was in the other room laughing as he watched it all through the monitor.

Saturday bedtime he put himself to bed!!!! Kaden had taken a late nap and got up just before dinner. We ate dinner and when we were done Eli was crying, which he only does when in extreme pain. Since we were out of motrin, I headed out to the drug store. Upon arriving home, I expected to see Kaden but noticed his door was shut. I gave Fadi a sturn look and said, "Why did you put him to bed, he just woke up". Fadi laughed and said, "I didn't put him to bed". As it turns out, the boys played a little and got pajamas on and then Fadi was calling Kaden to come to the living room and he wasn't responding. So, Fadi went to look for him. This crazy kid was in his bed with his blanket and pacifier laying down. So, Fadi turned out the lights and zero escape attempts. Since then, Sunday nap and bedtime and today's nap have gone great. I am trilled at how well this has gone. I never would have expected it.

Also, Eli's crying has stopped too, incase you caught that. I think it was his muscles hurting. After he got his Baclofen (a muscle relaxant) he settled right down. The doctor upped it a few days ago to the highest levels his weight can handle. If it keeps getting worse, he will have to get a Baclofen Pump (ITB Therapy-Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy) which sends the medication directly to his spine. See link for more info.

"ITB Therapy delivers a medication called Lioresal® Intrathecal (baclofen injection) directly to the intrathecal space where fluid flows around the spinal cord. The medication is administered in small doses using the Medtronic SynchroMed® programmable pump. The pump is surgically placed under the skin of the abdomen and connected to a thin tube called a catheter. Once in place, the pump and catheter deliver Lioresal Intrathecal directly to the spinal fluid where it is most effective."

His neurosurgeon has talked to us about this before, but it might be sooner than we had thought. Eli also had a 4 minute seizure the other day at school which really scared them. I haven't seen him have one like that before so we are really watching him now, but they do seem to be getting longer and longer, but also less frequent. Who knows what that means, but I just figured I would keep you all updated.

Daytona Beach-Labor Day Weekend

So, we got some much needed relaxation time away at Daytona Beach for the Labor Day Weekend. My Mom and Rick joined us, as did Ella since the hotel allowed dogs.

We had a great time and two different friends came and joined us on Saturday as well. Kaden was so worn out each day. At home, this might have made for a great night, but on vacation this lead to terrible dinners! He didn't want to eat, didn't want to sit in the highchair, ect. He did sleep great once he went down though.One question I can't get a true answer to is "why is it when you are are on vacation and you can sleep in, your kids wake up at the crack of dawn". Kaden was up at about 6am every morning. So, the first morning I figured what the heck I am on vacation and I want to sleep in and there wasn't really anything for him to break or damage in the hotel room. So, I let him wander around and snoozed back to sleep (now Fadi never woke up and was in the same room). So, as both of us slept, I was awoken to the words, "bite" followed by crunching sounds. After about the fourth crunch, I opened my eyes to see what in the world he had found to eat and why he kept needing to say bite before each crunch. To my surprise, there sat Kaden with a full bag of Cheese-Its with his faithful companion Ella right next to him. He would take a Cheese-It out, say "bite", and hold it in front of Ella's lips. The crunching was not him, it was her! That little rascal was feeding the dog our beach snacks! All I could do was laugh and then jump up to grab the chips and said "No, we don't feed dogs our snacks!" And, that was the end of my snoozing! Rise and Shine!
We managed to come home without any sunburns and we packed our Kansas City shirts and stopped by Chick-fil-A for free sandwiches on our way home.

We got a pool in our backyard!

Well, we do have the $10.00 blow up from Wal-Mart kind! Hey, it works for us. It works perfectly to hold Eli up and very low on maintenance cost. For children under 4 years of age, the preferred swim suit is their Birthday Suit. For those any older, a store bought bathing suit is required. A)-nobody would want to see that and B)-we don't have a fence and I am sure the neighbors WILL call the police if you try, so I strongly discourage it.

Kaden loves to get in and out, in and out, and in and out. I tried to train him to step into a small bucket before entering to clean the grass off his feet, but it only works like 1 out of 5 times. For a one year old, I figure it went well and he is learning. On this trip to our pool, Kaden brought along his crocs. I am not really sure why, but he thought they made for a great cup to drink out of.As you can see from the smiles, it was a great afternoon.