Weekend

My cousin Lawrence and his wife Jill are expecting in just a couple of weeks and we went to Edmonton for their baby shower on Sunday. It's always nice to see family, even though it was hectic with the many people there, including kids. Gemma spent most of the time crying, but she had good moments in there where she would let people talk to her and even hold her sometimes. I think we are making progress with her making strange.

When my cousins heard about me taking away Gemma's soother, they were surprised and questioned my rationale for it. My one cousin's kids did not take soothers, my other cousin doesn't have any kids yet but still wondered why I did what I did (in a questioning manner), and my other cousin said her kids had them until they were two and it was easy to take it away at that point. I'm really happy with our decision to take away her soother now, but I have to admit, I was surprised at the lack of support and I found myself questioning myself, whether I had made the right choice in doing this. 

It's true Gemma's naps are not as great as they used to be. I think partly the reason her naps aren't as good is that she is getting older and not needing to sleep as much as she used to. Now, Gemma's total nap time is about 3.5 hours a day. Before, it was around 5 hours or more. And it is getting easier everyday to settle her down for her naps without her soother. Her nighttime sleep, as mentioned before, is much better.

Yesterday morning was a challenge in that Gemma was not going to nap. After struggling with my thoughts all the day prior, I decided to give her a soother (I had missed one in the cupboard). I figured if I only gave it to her for her naps, it would be okay as eventually she would stop napping altogether and not need it anymore. I totally expected her to stop shrieking immediately and start sucking as if all was right with the world once again. Instead, she screamed harder as to say "Get this thing out of my mouth". So I did, then cuddled her a bit more, and she fell asleep.

So how did I feel after that?

GREAT. It assured me that Gemma's sleep disturbance isn't due to her missing her soother; I am not depriving her of something she still really wants; She has apparently forgotten it already. It put my inner conflict to rest. It gave me peace...LOL... and I'm proud of her.

I know the cliche: I know and should do what is best for my family. But sometimes that is easier said than done when it seems everyone thinks you're wrong. Oh well. One thing is for sure: Gemma isn't gonna be one of those toddlers running around with a soother in her mouth.