The floor must be comfortable

The very night after I asked for help concerning Aloria's getting out of bed, the issue seemed to rectify itself. My aunt re-affirmed what I thought I should do...which was to walk her back everytime she got up, no matter how tired I was...so I was ready to follow through on that. But that night I decided to shut her door more then usual. I think it was just habit, when she was in her crib and couldn't get out, to shut her door for naps but open it before I went to bed. She never tries to come out during naps, so I tried leaving it open only about six inches or so that night...open just enough to let the heat in, but not so much that the light from the fridge or from the porch light shining through the living room shades would bother her. Vwala! No more night time visitor.

I still get a little concerned for her though, so every time I have to get up to go to the bathroom (and because I'm prego, that's about twice a night), I go and check on her. On more then one occasion I have found her curled up on the floor in her favorite position. Face down, butt up, arms tucked under her chest. It didn't look like she fell out, and I never heard her cry, and there were no toys out of place making me think she had gotten out of bed to play. It is a mystery. My guess is that she wakes up thirsty, or needing to find her pacifier (sometimes her bear falls out of bed), she gets dissorientated and gets out of bed to figure things out...where she probably forgets what she got out of bed for and then just lays back down to go to sleep. I've seen her do that in her crib before. She would wake up upset about something, I'd go in to soothe her, but then she'd look at me like she was still asleep and then just lay back down. So, as long as I'm up and peeing anyway, I just make it a point to go in and re-cover her...or pick her up off of the floor, if need be. She never seems upset or hurt...she just falls back to sleep where I put her.

I have gotten several questions from people as to why I am making this change for her so soon when the baby doesn't need the crib for 8 more months (four pre-outerworld, four post), so I should probably explain that :-)

I've heard it said that humans are creatures of habit...and though I feel my greatest habits are to have none at all, I have really been working on that. ...and it seems to really create a lot of security for Aloria in the way that she functions daily. For instance, we got out of the habit of two naps a day and moved to one because she wasn't sleeping for her second one anymore...once we made the switch, though a little difficult at first because I had to keep her up past lunch instead of putting her down at 10am, she is now thriving on her new schedule and I never have any problem with her. In fact, today I was on the computer and didn't get lunch ready as early as usual...Aaron had come home and so it was about that time for her to go down. Aaron called me to show me that she was sitting in bed with her pacifier and her bear mumbling "push," which means "pray." She was ready for routine. I love that! Let me say it again. I LOVE THAT!!! So, all this to say, that I want Aloria to learn to do this now (stay in bed, learn not to fall out, what have you...) so that she is well into her routine so that when the baby comes and I am getting up for night feedings, this little ordeal is no where near a problem. Also, I feel that a new baby around will shake her world a little, as is...it will take away from her time, and I don't want to try and teach her something new when there is already another big change going on. ...and I think that I can only really tackle one issue at a time...and do it really well. Anyway, that's why.

Sort of off subject, but still on that note, one habit I have tried to tackle within myself is to keep the house clean. I have decided to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen and living room after every meal...thus keeping the clutter down to a minimum each time, which makes the clean up go by really fast. I have found that I have more time to sit down and play with Aloria because I am done with my work and less stressed about how messy things are. ...then before her nap, I tell her to come with me and pick up the toys in her room, or a portion of them, before bed. I started these habits for my sanity because my life was feeling so unorganized, but it turns out kids really do learn by example...fancy that. Now, if I don't feel like putting her toys away, or I forget to ask her to do it before her nap...sometimes she will squiggle out of my arms and start doing it herself. I just looked at her like, "what the heck?!" She'll put her books back, her trains and cars back in the bucket, and her dishes back into the basket...then without a fuss, she'll climb into bed and ask for her kiss, etc... I've even noticed her cleaning up after herself when I bring out something new to play with. I brought out her puzzles, and without me asking she started putting her crayons back in the basket. My mouth still hangs open. Of course, she doesn't do this every time on her own, and she has plenty of fussy moments to keep up with the more pleasant ones, but they are growing less an less. And the fact that she does these things on her own at all really spurs me on to keeping strong in my resolve not to give up my habits...which, unfortunatley, is usually my most consistent habit. ...but now it's not just about me. What I do, is done at the expense of her; for good or for bad she is watching. It makes me want to be that better person/parent...to pray for more of God's strength to continue to show her the right way. It's tiring, but so much more rewarding then I thought possible. Watching her grow up is a constant miracle.