Am I holding him too much?
Am I giving him enough: tummy time/alone time/time away from us/time with us?
Am I giving him too much food and am I feeding him at the right times?
Am I reading to him enough, and if I am, am I taking my time and teaching him while we are reading?
Am I offering him a variety of toys to challenge him and help him to grow? Or, am I offering too many toys, causing him to be impatient and needy?
Am I keeping him on a schedule that is too strict, and is it unreasonable to expect him to sleep until 7? Should he still be taking that third nap?
Oh my! I need to take a breath. When I look at Jack, I know that he is being well cared for and his smiles tell me that he is happy. So, don't get me wrong - I am not falling apart. I just feel like maybe there is too much information out there sometimes, and when I start reading and planning, changing, and second-guessing myself, my life gets hectic.
So today I am getting back to simple things with Jack. I am not going to worry about whether my speed reading is going to affect his ability to pass the SAT, and I am going to take him out tomorrow with his friends even though it will mess up his schedule. I am going to give him that third nap when he looks tired and skip it when he doesn't.
I am going to do my best and just love him the way I know how. That doesn't mean that I will never again fret about his schedule, worry about how we are spending our time, or question my skills, but hopefully I can remember to just stop and try to love him with everything I have.
With that said, here are a few pictures of Jack's newest and most favorite activities -- they are cheap, easy, make him smile, and didn't involve expensive toys or a lot of planning.
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| Hide the ball |
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| Uncover the ball |
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| Play with the ball |
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| Build the tower |
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| Knock it down |
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| Playing with the mirror |
Every once in a while I get lucky and things just come together. Yesterday we built and knocked down towers, and today the tower across the street is being taken down. Perfect. (Not that I am looking for any educational benefits!)
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| Firehouse tower coming down |
3 comments:
I go through every one of those questions all the time! I even had a similar revelation when looking at Elise's happy grim this morning. You do so many different things with Jack that ha has no choice but to be wonderfully well-rounded. You guys are doing a great job and Jack is so lucky to have you both! I decided to scrap all my worries today and enjoy some baby cuddles.
Well, I think you are doing a great job with Jack. After your visit I kind of thought, oh no, I'm not doing enough little jingles and rhymes with Drew:) I think all of the questioning is just part of being a mom. And just a funny thing I always remember about Dr. Bird. He always said that a lot of the toys they make now for kids are so complicated and frustrating. He said just give them the good old pots and pans:) My favorite is when they take all of the cans out of the pantry and line them up:)
And why is the fire house being torn down? I thought someone moved in there??
You can relax and know that you ARE doing a great job. It is very evident to me that you are giving him everything he needs physically, emotionally and spiritually. I could not be more proud of the parenting skills that both you and Jake are using. I am a blessed grandma. Thanks for being such a good mom.
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