moar funny pictures

Ah, the great traditions of the holiday season. The roasted turkey! The Christmas tree! The dazzling lights! The shopping!

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre reading A Christmas Carol.

and Part II, which comes with an F-word warning, but is worth watching nonetheless.

Seriously, it’s way better this way. Hard to think of a dull “classic” that couldn’t be improved by being performed crazy karaoke-style by a pair of Hebridean socks (not Argyle, strangely). I can hardly wait till they get started on The Wasteland!

Let me tell you, there is nothing like having your parenting choices out there for all the world to see.  Although I would love to provide you with more facts and reasons as to why my son doesn’t do his homework, I realize that no matter what I say, I will not change people’s minds.  And that’s ok.  While reading everyone’s well-stated opinions, I remembered something from the Munchkin’s early days.

The Munchkin had colic.  Horrible colic (is there any other kind?) that would keep him literally screaming at all hours of the day and night.  Nothing we did helped.  The doctor informed us of a few home remedies, then basically told us we were screwed on our own.

Holding him helped the most. He wanted to be held all the time. And so that led to us both gently rocking in my chair while he slept during the day and co-sleeping at night. 

My family and friends knew about this situation, and they shook their heads knowingly and said, “Oh Glinda, you are setting yourself up for some big problems in the future.  Let him cry it out and sleep by himself, it’s better that way.”

And so I listened to what they had to say. How could I not?  They were my friends and family, with only good intentions.  One night, I decided that I would let him try to fall asleep by himself.  I left him in the crib, and he cried and cried, and it was the worst thing I had ever heard. The cry was one of feeling alone and abandoned, not one of hunger or discomfort.  I steeled myself, reminding myself that everyone said this was the right thing to do.

As I listened to him cry, the wrongness of it caused me actual physical pain.  I questioned the prevailing wisdom, as I personally had no problem holding him while he slept. In fact, I enjoyed feeling his weight and watching his sweet face as he slumbered.  I wondered why I was listening to everyone else, when I was the one that knew him best, his quirks and likes and dislikes.  It was then and there in the hallway outside his room that I my epiphany occurred. When I felt so strongly about something, I would respectfully go my own way.  I would take facts into account and carefully weigh them, but if in the end I knew deep down that it was wrong for us, I vowed not to do it.  No matter how many people told me I was crazy.

I was warned that I had made a dire mistake, that I would be dealing with sleep problems forever and ever, that I was scarring him emotionally.  I heard it all.  I didn’t care.  What I was doing felt right to me.

And you know what?  I followed the path that worked for us as a family, and eventually got him used to falling asleep on his own by the age of three.  It was not a sudden decision, but a process, because my son does best that way.  And I know that because I am his Mom.  Now, he falls asleep on his own, sleeps all night long, and never protests going to bed.  I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not.  He is a perfect sleeper.

My critics? They have nothing to say to that, because their advice? It was wrong.  It wasn’t wrong in a literal sense, but it was wrong for me and for him.  Are there babies that can easily fall asleep on their own?  Of course, it’s just that mine wasn’t one of them.  I could tell you other stories about how I went “against the grain” and how it turned out perfectly fine, but this is already getting too long. 

That situation taught me the best lesson I could have learned as a parent, to listen to my intuition more.  Too often, parents are bombarded with information from books, magazines, television, and countless other sources.  Some of them have your best interests in mind, some of them don’t.  It is so difficult to sift through all of that, especially a new parent who is having doubts about their ability to do anything right.   By all means, read and watch and listen. However, it may be none or all or only a certain combination of things that works for you and your child.

But in the end, I have learned that my gut instinct is almost always right.  As long as what you are doing is not harmful, the best gift you can give yourself is to listen to you inner voice.  We as parents know our child best.  Period.  There is no one-size-fits-all way to parent, and don’t believe anyone who tells you there is. 

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. And no, I didn’t rent some crazy cabin out in the woods to write this.