It's not been that long since my "Catch Yourself" post, but I thought I'd do a little update.
Since making the decision to not watch the clock, not count the minutes until I could put my daughter back to sleep, our lives have improved.
I'm not actually doing anything all that different, our days are spent the same way (go for a walk at least once a day, lots of mat play, singing and talking, etc) but my attitude is better. I don't know if my daughter can sense a difference, but I feel better in myself. I feel more present. I feel like I'm really 'there'.
It's amazing how much better it can be with a simple change of attitude.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Catch yourself
I've caught myself. And just in time too.
I caught myself "filling in time" between bubbas sleeps, watching the clock and passively time wasting.
I don't want to be the time filler! I don't want to be so damn focused on sleep, watching the clock to see how long she has been awake and how much longer before I can put her back down for the next one.
But sleep deprivation will do that to even the best mummies (or so I believe). We all know how important sleep is, especially for babies, but I don't believe that I should be so focused on sleep anymore - at least not now that we are all finally getting some.
So I'm changing my mindset.
Instead of waiting for my baby to go to sleep, I'm going to be waiting for her to wake up to start our new adventure. Instead of just filling time we are going to play, do activities and have fun. Sure we've always sung songs, cuddled, had finger plays etc, but that wasn't cutting it for me. I realised I wanted to do more.
Last night, before dinner my husband and I experienced finger painting with our baby for the first time ever. It was AMAZING. We all had fun, we all got messy, and we created memories. We even have a small series of artwork to display proudly on the fridge.
I want to be a positive parent, and an active parent.
All it takes is a change of mindset, to catch yourself in the moments and decide if this is really how you want it too be.
I caught myself "filling in time" between bubbas sleeps, watching the clock and passively time wasting.
I don't want to be the time filler! I don't want to be so damn focused on sleep, watching the clock to see how long she has been awake and how much longer before I can put her back down for the next one.
But sleep deprivation will do that to even the best mummies (or so I believe). We all know how important sleep is, especially for babies, but I don't believe that I should be so focused on sleep anymore - at least not now that we are all finally getting some.
So I'm changing my mindset.
Instead of waiting for my baby to go to sleep, I'm going to be waiting for her to wake up to start our new adventure. Instead of just filling time we are going to play, do activities and have fun. Sure we've always sung songs, cuddled, had finger plays etc, but that wasn't cutting it for me. I realised I wanted to do more.
Last night, before dinner my husband and I experienced finger painting with our baby for the first time ever. It was AMAZING. We all had fun, we all got messy, and we created memories. We even have a small series of artwork to display proudly on the fridge.
I want to be a positive parent, and an active parent.
All it takes is a change of mindset, to catch yourself in the moments and decide if this is really how you want it too be.
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