But that's not the adorable smile I have gotten to see much this week...
This week has been a battle between my son's new-found defiance and my patience. And most of the week, I have felt like a loser with a capital L!
When my son wakes up happy he talks a lot and hangs out very easily by himself in his crib. This week he mostly just starts crying when he wakes. Not fun.
When my son enjoys life he plays very well both by himself and with others. And can do this for hours at a time before getting bored and/or tired.
When my son is hungry he gets clingy and then eagerly eats his food with a wide open mouth for every bite snd various excited noises after each bite.
When my son naps well he can easily be placed in his crib sitting and awake before he gathers his blankets and sleeps soundly for 2 hours easily. Often more than once a day.
But this hasn't been our past week. He has been refusing new foods, refusing unfamiliar foods, and even refusing foods that he normally greatly enjoys. If it is not his favorite his has been putting up a fight, throwing a tantrum and going hungry.
You see, you may not agree with this, but I firmly believe that if he is hungry enough he will eat. And if he is willing to refuse a food, he is just trying to get his way on his terms. What usually happens at this point is that he starts crying hard, sometimes throwing things, acting angry and defiant. And the next thing that happens is that I take him to his crib so he can deal with it on his own. And he seems to be ok with this, often just falling asleep for an hour or so. Sometimes he would wake happy, but often not. Either way, I would only offer the same food again. And again and again, until he would get hungry enough that he would give in and eat the food. And then life would start to seem normal again.
Long, angry days filled with lots of crying and sadness and little food...
Until today.
Today was great! He slept in late, woke up happy, ate a great breakfast, was great during all of our errands, took a long nap, woke happy, ate another great meal....and so went the best day we've had all week! He had great awake time, he willing tried new foods and ate everything we gave him on the first try. He had two great naps, and I don't think he ever cried today!
There's a part of me that feels like today was a 'win' for us in this battle. I don't want to think that way, and don't want everyday to feel like a battle, but today was good, and hopefully this is the pattern that continues. A fun-loving, gentle, compliant, adorable little boy. I know that's a lot to ask for, so that's why I'm praying for it!
