Learning Curve

LEARNING CURVE #1: Making Decisions Together

Last week: I made a last minute decision (without consulting Eric) about keeping G in church with us instead of taking him to the nursery. He did great (I was exhausted!). We took him to class, and I taught the cradle roll class. We finally got home, were completely worn out, and we all ate lunch. G was super-hyper, but it was naptime (for all of us!). Eric suggested we keep G up a little and let him crawl around since he didn't get to during church. I, of course, took offense to that because it was my decision to keep him in church. Short story long, G did NOT sleep, we did NOT sleep, and we all went to the game room. Eric and I took a nap on the couch while G played. (It's a completely safe room, and we could hear if he got into any trouble...don't judge.) :) G was finally worn out at 3, so we put him down again, and he went to sleep (finally!). FAIL.

This week: Eric and I discussed what to do with G BEFORE church, agreed, and G went to the nursery. When we came home, G was so tired that he couldn't even eat lunch (read: throwing a fit). I put him down right away, and he is currently taking a long nap. We'll feed him lunch later. :)

Solution: Make decisions about this kind of stuff TOGETHER. Duh. Seriously.

LEARNING CURVE #2: Scripture Lessons

Before: Whenever I read the New Testament, I always read it in the light of me being a Gentile. You know, not a Jew. Right? Ephesians 2:11-18, for example. The subtitle is "Oneness and Peace in Christ." It's all about Christ bringing peace to us - Jews and Gentiles - creating one new people from the two groups. Read as a Gentile, that jives with me and makes sense. Verse 17 says,

He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. 

Read as a Gentile, I think about being far away from Jesus when I sin. Right? Sin separates us from God.

Now: Okay, but I've grown up knowing God. And I don't think the Gentiles did. The Jews did, for sure. So, what if I read this as a Jew...because Jews have been near to God their whole lives, like me. Gentiles, then, would be people who have not been near to God their whole lives...people around the world who do not accept Jesus and his teachings. I don't know about you, but that changes my reading of Ephesians. It opens the world to me for Jesus and salvation.

He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. v.15

Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. v.16

Now, I know technically, I'm not a Jew. But if I read these passages with the understanding that Jews were people who grew up "going to church," and Gentiles were people who didn't (or who believed in other things...), then this passage has a whole new meaning.

LEARNING CURVE #3: Nap Time

A Few Months Ago: Nap Time. I have always let G go to sleep on his own, from the very beginning. Lately, he has been playing for a LONG time in his crib before finally going to sleep. This has completely stressed me out. I worry about him getting enough sleep during the day (he just does so much better when he naps!), and therefore, I can't rest or be productive or anything until he actually takes his nap.

Aha! I finally decided that G was old enough (13 months) to understand when it is Nap Time and my expectations that he remain lying down and try to go to sleep.

Two Weeks Ago: I decided that if I saw that he was standing up in his crib and playing before his nap, that I would go in and lay (lie?) him back down and say, "Lay down. It's time to go to sleep." This worked very well the first two days. Then, he viewed it as a game. When I would come in, he would crash to the mattress and giggle. He's lying down, right? Um, wrong. He was willfully disobeying me. He is definitely old enough to know what he is doing as far as this is concerned.

Now: Without going into too many details, now I am very firm and strict with him. I follow the same disciplining procedure each time (the FIRST time I go into his room when he's not lying down). It works. He stays lying down and goes to sleep within minutes. Yesterday, I had to go in twice, but that is not the norm. Hopefully, soon, he will learn to not get up at all, and I won't have to go in there.

It's so hard to be consistent. It's so hard to discipline. But it works. And it's necessary. And G is learning. And I am learning. Whew. This parenting thing is not for the faint of heart. 

Now I need to go take a shower because he's napping. 

In his Pack N Play. 

After weeks of not napping in it.

And I only went in there once.