We've seen quite a bit of this the past couple of days...
Gray has been going through some serious separation/spoiled-ness lately. I truly do believe some of it is separation anxiety but it either turned into spoiled/not getting what I want, when I want it episodes or has been accompanied by it. Whenever we leave the room he freaks out but lately it hasn't gotten any better even when we come back into the room and he sees and hears us. That isn't good enough. He wants to be held. Like ALL the time! I realized we had been giving in way too much and in return, it was only getting worse. If I sit down next to him while he is playing on the floor but I don't pick him up, he throws his arms at me and nuzzles his little face into my chest as if to beg for me to hold him. As sweet and cute as it is, I know that to some degree that isn't healthy for him or for us. So we decided as long as we knew he wasn't in any pain and he could see us, we were going to have to let him just cry it out and deal with it. Friday was going to be day one of that plan. I dreaded it. But then Daddy got home from work early because of the ice storm, which meant I'd have some support with it. Thank you God! There was a whole lot of crying, turned to screaming, going on but he got himself together a lot faster than I thought he would. As soon as he quit crying and started playing by himself, we verbally praised him and clapped for him. Then soon after we went over to him, sat next to him first and as long as he didn't start crying again, we'd pick him up for a few minutes. Just a couple of weeks ago he was doing so good with independent play time and we want to get back to that. I don't want him to be spoiled and too dependent on others, although I know he is a baby and these things are normal and he does have emotional needs. It's such a fine line and I know we will make many mistakes with teaching and disciplining him but we are going to try our best every day to do what's best for him and us.
We did the same thing Saturday and Sunday and though there were a lot of tears shed, he is already doing so much better. He has cried some, but gets over it quicker and has played a lot more by himself. I am hoping we can get back to better independent play time again soon.
It's scary how hard things are and he is only seven and a half months old. I know we haven't seen anything yet but we are praying daily for God to give us wisdom on how to deal with these challenges as they arise. Discipline is certainly not the most important aspect to raising our children, but it is high on the list. Our main reason for that is that we feel like if our children don't respect and obey us, they won't respect and obey God or anyone else for that matter. Some people probably think we are too harsh in our views and even the way we are already choosing to parent Gray but I think children are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes. At seven months, I am certain that Gray was learning that every time he cried, we would pick him up or feed him faster or give him another toy. My own nephews joke about how mean we are and how our kids aren't going to like us. But I am hoping for the opposite. God disciplines us because He loves us and knows it's what's best for us. We feel the same way about Gray.
We have a tough road ahead of us on the parenting end, as do all parents. But I am thankful to be a mama and wouldn't trade it for anything on earth!
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