The purpose of this blog is and remains, to provide Tiza with a place to start when she comes to a point in her life of seeking and searching for pieces of her past that are missing. I've tried to fill in the blanks with what I know and what I think I would want to know if I were an adopted child. That being said, there simply must be space and time for lighter entries. Today happens to be one of them. It was prompted by my scrolling through our summer photos and finding a repeated theme. Sleep. I CANNOT believe the places we've allowed our little Bonus Baby to sleep!!! What has happened to my parenting style? Do I even have a parenting style?
Had I viewed these photos as a new mom to Levi and Jake, I would have sighed heavily and with great judgement, felt sorry for parents whose value system is so distorted they cannot be home in a stable environment in order to allow their babies to sleep. I mean really, it's only a few hours! I can even hear myself say these things.
Some of Tiza's sleeping postures are justifiable. Having spent countless hours at the lab or in the doctor's office this summer, it stands to reason that on one of her visits, she would fall asleep and she did. The others? Well the others just show the wear and tear it takes on a two and a half year old when she needs to keep up with a family of "big kids." That being said, to all of you new parents out there, trying to do everything by the books. By all means, keep up your quest. Excellence in parenting is an admirable goal. However, if at the end of the day, something falls through the cracks or things don't go quite like the book describes or your brain imagines, know this, if your baby knows they are loved, do all of the tiny details need to matter so much? Maybe it's their security in your love that allows them to fall asleep in strange places in the first place. Maybe it's your love that lets them stretch out and relax to the point of entering their dream place. And certainly, it's your love that allows them to wake up and call out for you, so sleep away babies, wherever that may be.
And as for you Tiza, please know that you had a very nice bed in our home during those early days. Also know, you didn't really like said bed very much and preferred sleeping anywhere but. And finally know, that because you slept in some pretty unconventional settings, you allowed your mom to loosen her grip on some of the tiny things in life that really aren't that important after all.
Had I viewed these photos as a new mom to Levi and Jake, I would have sighed heavily and with great judgement, felt sorry for parents whose value system is so distorted they cannot be home in a stable environment in order to allow their babies to sleep. I mean really, it's only a few hours! I can even hear myself say these things.
Some of Tiza's sleeping postures are justifiable. Having spent countless hours at the lab or in the doctor's office this summer, it stands to reason that on one of her visits, she would fall asleep and she did. The others? Well the others just show the wear and tear it takes on a two and a half year old when she needs to keep up with a family of "big kids." That being said, to all of you new parents out there, trying to do everything by the books. By all means, keep up your quest. Excellence in parenting is an admirable goal. However, if at the end of the day, something falls through the cracks or things don't go quite like the book describes or your brain imagines, know this, if your baby knows they are loved, do all of the tiny details need to matter so much? Maybe it's their security in your love that allows them to fall asleep in strange places in the first place. Maybe it's your love that lets them stretch out and relax to the point of entering their dream place. And certainly, it's your love that allows them to wake up and call out for you, so sleep away babies, wherever that may be.
And as for you Tiza, please know that you had a very nice bed in our home during those early days. Also know, you didn't really like said bed very much and preferred sleeping anywhere but. And finally know, that because you slept in some pretty unconventional settings, you allowed your mom to loosen her grip on some of the tiny things in life that really aren't that important after all.
Absolutely precious!
ReplyDeleteToo adorable!!!
ReplyDelete