Joshua no longer panics when it is time to get ready to sleep. After lunch when I remind him it is nap time, he reminds me that he needs to tell everyone currently in our house "mah tah mah tah." They we go shinty, read a book, he turns off the light, and we rock. He is usually asleep peacefully in 20 minutes or so of rocking. Then I lay him in his bed and he sleeps well for about an hour. About an hour after I lay him down he calls for me. Usually I lay him back down and rub his back until he falls bask to sleep. He wakes up again in 40 min. or so ready to cuddle a few minutes and have a snack.
Bedtime is not quite as smooth. The routine begins with a bath, then a snack and cup of warm milk. Next he tells everyone (including the dog and the big fish) "mah tah mah tah". Then we go shinty, get on a diaper, read a book, and turn off the light. We settle into the rocking chair for prayers and cuddles. He snuggles right in with his little thumb in his mouth. However, at bedtime he is much more restless than at naptime. He wiggles and squirms, fighting sleep. I rock him until the wiggles get to me, then I lay him in his crib. He can handle being in his crib as long as I am touching him, so I rub his back or hold his hand until he finally falls asleep. The last week it takes him about an hour to an hour and a half to fall asleep. UGH! He wakes up between 12 and 3 and calls for me. He comes to bed with us at that point and keeps squished up next to me until morning. (Seriously he is RIGHT next to me or on top of me!)
I am very thankful it is summer. During the school year the best one on one time I have with the older kids is between 8:00 and 9:30 - Joshua's "touch me time." Luckily I get time with them during the day right now.
While I am SO THANKFUL that going to sleep no longer causes Joshua to panic, the amount of time it takes to get him settled in is draining. I feel like I have no "me" time. By the time he is asleep, I am done for. I am too worn out to make a phone call, watch a movie, or even really chat with Chad. Since Joshua panics if he can not find me right away in the morning, I can not sneak out of bed early and go for a run or whatever.
However, I also sense that he is not ready yet for me to force him to learn to sleep on his own. I have been very strict with the kids about bedtime and learning to put themselves to sleep, and we will get there with Joshua too. Joshua loves to pretend. This morning, his favorite game was to pretend he was going to sleep. We have been talking about how his siblings go to sleep by themselves and sleep in their own beds, so I thought maybe he wanted to role-play that himself. I walked into his room and rocked him in a silly way to make sure he knew I was playing. Then I lay him in his crib "like Brenna" and playfully started to leave the room. He totally freaked out! He was in tears of panic in half a second.
So... we keep waiting for him to be more secure. Not only do we have the transition to America and attachment with our family to work on, he has also NEVER slept in a room by himself in his entire life. I keep telling myself to celebrate the baby steps. He is doing SO much better, but I get impatient some times. Hanging out in his room while the rest of the house is watching a movie or playing a game is hard - BUT once it is over it is over. He will never again want to be held and cuddled as much as he does right now, so I best remember to enjoy it!
Many people have asked if we can communicate with him. The answer to that is a BIG YES! His language acquisition is amazing! He can repeat anything and can tell us pretty clearly in English what he wants and needs. His speech is a little hard to understand - but what 2-year-old's isn't? I have NO concerns about speech or communication.
He likes to add an "ee" sound to the ends of words. Last night I was visiting with a neighbor and we commented on it being hot out. Chad echoed that he was hot as well. Joshua chimed in "Yep, Daddy hottie!" We all got a good chuckle out of that one.
This week I have taken Joshua to our office twice. (We have gone in to quickly switch files many times, but this week I have tried to actually get some work done while at the office.) The first time he played with Daddy in the equipment, but today he quietly played in the office for about an hour and a half. That is huge! I almost feel like an "employee" getting in some time at the office plus the work I do while he naps or plays with his siblings. We will keep working on office time. I think starting day care would be a bad decision at this time. But I do need to start working a bit more. Chad and I share a very informal office and I can do a lot from home which is very helpful, but some things just have to be done in the office. So little man will have to be my office buddy for a while!
We met friends at the park for lunch today. Joshua is getting better at not "shutting down" when new people are around. He is also doing better with sharing my attention. He was able to play some on his own while I visited close by. He does not have any interest in playing with kids his age. Yesterday a talkative little girl came to introduce herself while we were swinging. Once Joshua figured out she wanted to play with him he told me he was ready to go home!
DOGS! I will finally call Joshua and Riley friends! Joshua no longer shows any fear of Riley. He even pushed him back onto his rug when he sneaked off this morning. He is not as sure about other dogs, but he has dared himself to touch 3! His little heart was racing when he touched the first one, but he was not as scared with the others.
So progress is happening! My number one prayer request for now is for wisdom and patience on the issue of sleep. It is getting better though for which I am most thankful!
