Mommy Discovery

I have had an epiphany. I have come to this revelation through trial and error and confusion only to be figuratively struck with it upside my head while eating breakfast.

My son has an objection to change.

I know it's not something life altering...well maybe it is... altering in a sense that I need to slightly change my tactics. Leading up to said epiphany...

Chase has a way of doing things. He sleeps on the floor at the foot of our bed every night. I have tried over and over and over to get him to sleep in his own room for ....well, forever! Several occasions have led to small victories of a few months of him actually sleeping in his own room - all alone - and then somehow (I blame Daddy) he gets his way once and then the streak of good luck is over! Daija went through a similar dilemma until Kyla was born and we moved them both out of our room together which worked quite well. So instead of being the mean Mommy that I always claim I am. I have designed a little "doggy" bed on the floor for him and officially given up until Collin is born and we move them out together.

Chase has a jacket. Poor word choice - I always called it his "coat" when I would ask him to put it on during the chilly fall months. Normally I would not have thought this was such an issue. Until it started to snow. The BIG blizzard of the century is breathing down our necks and I decide I HAVE to go to WalMart RIGHT NOW and get Chase a coat before the big one hits. Well, I find a wonderful, black, very thick, and warm coat for $13. (Momma scores!) Later that day we are trying to get out the door and I proudly announce "this coat is for YOU!" to Chase. To which he replies "NO- I want my blue one!". Hmmm... I eventually wrestle him into the coat (the real black one) but we continued to have this debate every time he had to put his coat on for several days. FYI: He now wears it just fine...but it took some convincing it was HIS "coat".

The newest predicament that made me realize my naivete's has been a blanket. Chase has a "blankie". He is the first of my children to find such an attachment to any object. None of them ever took a nook or sucked their thumbs or ....had a blankie. Until now. I am aware of his need of blankie. (although I admit I hate that word...) Every time he gets hurt he cries for blankie. Every time he gets in trouble he cries for blankie. He will NOT sleep without it - no matter what. He takes it in the car with him. He carries it around the house. Well, as you can imagine, Chase is getting bigger. He is outgrowing blankie. It is no longer suitable to keep him adequately warm at night and I have tried to add another blanket on top. He refuses. I sneak one on him after he's asleep. He wakes up, gets MAD, and until JUST blankie is on him will not go back to sleep.

Enter - Spiderman Blanket.

I (in my genius-ness) decide if I get a bigger blanket with something COOL on it then he will instantly LOVE it and let me add it to blankie. Not replace. I'm not that cruel.

He hates it.

Refuses to use it other than as a play toy to jump onto off of the couch.

Last night I finally had a small victory. He let me put spiderman UNDER him and blankie on top. YAY!! Can you hear the Hallelujah chorus??? I think if I slowly keep having small victories like this it will lead up to the day (just like with the coat) that he will finally be ok with having Spiderman AND Blankie together at last!

Now for potty training..... (dun dun dun....)