Nighty-Night

For quite a while now, Dexter has gotten used to Ben or me staying in the room with him while he falls asleep.  He calls it "taking care of him".  We've tried now and again to break this habit with some small successes but always the eventual backslide. A couple of weeks ago Ben and I decided that we absolutely needed to help him learn to fall asleep on his own. I began by talking with Dexter before bedtime about what a big boy he is becoming - pointing out all the things that he can do now that he used to not be able to do - and letting him know that I knew he could do it.  There was some resistance to the idea but I could see that it was making sense to him. 

This week, we started implementing the new plan. Mommy or Daddy would tuck him in, "give" him a tractor dream, sing him a lullaby, help him get settled down, then leave.  If he managed to go to sleep on his own, he would get to put a sticker on his bedroom calendar in the morning.  This approach seems to be working pretty well. He resists a little bit but eventually gives the "OK" for us to leave the room.  Tonight, he was struggling with it but I was reassuring and consistent, telling him that he was ready to do this. He started real deal weeping and said, "OK. But I will miss you, Mommy." It broke my heart to leave him in there but he did it.  I can't wait to tell him how proud I am of him tomorrow morning and let him know that he should be very proud of himself too.

Daddy Is My Best Friend

For weeks I have been hearing, almost daily, from Dexter that Daddy is his best friend.  It pops up at random times like while we're brushing teeth or riding in the car. While happy to hear it, I can't deny that I would feel a tinge of jealousy.  If Daddy is Dexter's best friend, who am I to him? Tonight, while Dexy and I were having dinner, Dexy announced to me, "You are my favorite parent, Mommy."  I was astonished. It seemed like such an odd thing to say.  We don't use the word "parent" in the house very much. I said, "Who are your parents?" Dexy replied, "You and Daddy.  And you are my favorite parent, Mommy.  And Daddy too."  It was beautiful.