I learned very quickly after having MacKenna 2+ years ago that I was no longer on my timeline. I mean, having to be induced and then having an unplanned C-section should have been my first clue, but the sleepless nights and mini-naps certainly solidified that I had to go by her timeline.
I had MacKenna around the same time as a bunch of other bloggers. Jen, Brittany, Emily, Madeline, Callie, etc. I have loved keeping up with their blogs and watching their kiddos grow with MacKenna. Most of them have already had their second child or are getting ready to pop out their second, and most of them are in the process of transitioning their first baby to “big kid” status.
Yes, I am one of those moms who compares myself to other moms. As I am
watching
reading my fellow mommy bloggers expand their family, I feel so far behind. MacKenna is getting close to that 2.5 year mark and (1) there is no second child on the way and (2) we are not even close to making her a “big girl”.
But, like I said, it didn’t take me long to realize that it’s all about doing things when she wants to do them. I started MacKenna on solid foods at 6 months, thinking I had given her plenty of time to grow and develop the way she needed to. She had shown no interest in food prior to starting her on solid foods, but she was 6 months – isn’t that when you’re supposed to start them on solids?
Well, I learned pretty quickly (again) that we needed to go by her timeline. We struggled for a good 2 months, trying to force solid food down her throat to no avail. She didn’t want baby food, nor did she want real food. Eventually (2 months later) she just started eating on her own, but as most of you regular readers know, even that has been a struggle (read: she is picky).
I’m pretty sure she’d still devour Mum Mums if I let her…
MacKenna will be 2 and a half in 2 months. I really was hoping that I would have her potty trained by that time. In reality, I still could, but I am starting to realize that it might take her a little longer until we get to that point. She will go sit on her potty, flush it, and give her Minnie and Mickey on her potty hugs and kisses (yeah, I know, I probably will need to stop her from doing that), but she just sits there and says she’s done without making a drop in the potty. Sometimes she’ll let out a little toot, but that’s as good as it gets.
She has a little bit of interest in going potty like a big girl, but she’s just not quite there yet. And I’m not going force it on her. Yes, I want her potty trained by 2 and a half, but if she’s not ready by then, that’s OK. She’ll get there. She’s always been behind her peers in pretty much everything else, so why should this be any different?
The other thing I was hoping to do sooner rather than later is transition her into her “big girl” bed. Right now, we’re in the process of selling our house, so until that happens, she’s going to be happy in her crib. And she is happy in her crib. Believe it or not, she has not climbed out of her crib once yet (knock. on. wood.). The pediatrician asked me at her 2 year checkup a few months ago if we had moved her yet or if she showed any interest. Since she hasn’t, the ped said to keep her in the crib.
Right before we moved her mattress down and the last time we adjusted her bed, almost 2 years ago!
But I know that once we sell our house and either move to a new one or over to my parents for an extended period, her big girl bed transition is going to happen. And that freaks me out! We don’t have a video monitor and I worry that with her nap strike at home right now (she’ll nap at the babysitter’s but it’s been hit or miss for us lately), she’ll be doing a lot more playing than actual sleeping. Plus, I’m scared to death of my little peanut rolling out of her bed. (Thankfully, Brittany suggested these magic bumpers that I’m pretty sure we will be investing in.)
The big girl room might happen a little sooner than what MacKenna’s timeline is, but I am going to try to go in to it being flexible, knowing that she just might not be ready yet. And that’s OK.
This face makes it easy to wait until she’s ready.
Someone told me when MacKenna was still an infant that it was OK if I needed to rock her to sleep every night, or go into her room to rock her back to sleep if she woke up in the middle of the night. Their point: you won’t be rocking her to sleep still when she’s going off to college. Sometimes you just have to do things because it’s right for your child, even if it’s against all the parenting books or not on the timeline you want. Chances are it’ll get better with time, and that’s OK.