WannaBeGythaOgg

More parenting perils

Parents make mistakes. Parents are, after all, just people. Procreating is not difficult for most of us...and I apologize to those couples who've had difficulties in this area...but no matter how hard it is, actually RAISING the kids is far harder.

I've created a nighttime monster in my son Adam. Because he's the last of my children (having ensured, thanks to modern surgical techniques, that he IS the last), I've tended to baby him. So I know it's my own fault. That's not to say it's any easier to deal with when the kid falls asleep in my arms and then, even though he's apparently out cold, can feel me trying to get up so I can put him to bed, at which point he immediately stiffens his entire body and starts saying, "No, mom, no!"

I usually end up sleeping with him but I decided last night to hold firm. He could just cry it out and get himself to sleep. Marshmallow that I am, I totally caved when I heard him sobbing, "You love me, mama! You love me, dada!" So I went back, picked him up, gave him a huge hug, and sat down with him again. He fell asleep, sniffling sadly...and I conked out soon after, which led to ...

Mistake #2 (at least last night): My older son Steven had a friend sleeping over, and they were downstairs in the basement playing a video game. My husband came home around 2am from the local watering hole and locked the door into the house. I woke up, still holding Adam, at 4:30, and after successfully putting Adam to bed, realized Steven wasn't in the house. Luckily, he had his cell phone, so I called him...he and his friend were camped on the back porch, which was cooler than the basement. I apologized...a LOT. Naturally, I thought he'd be back in the house before 2am.

Oh well...at least nobody got hurt.

posted by PratchettFan @ 6:35 AM