It's On.

After sleeping through the night from approximately 3 months to about 8 months, Syed Brian has decided that uninterrupted sleep is not necessary. Rather, he views it as a luxury and one of which he has chosen to deprive his parents. Frankly, Syed and I are tired of not having 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We have tried to be understanding, acommodating, nurturing parents for the past few months, hoping that our loving tendencies would encourage him to see the error of his ways, develop a new appreciation for what we provide for him, and that he would make the right decision on his own to sleep through the night. But he has only further developed manipulative tendencies and he is not taking the hint. Sooo...IT'S ON.

Syed Brian looks like an innocent, sweet, loving, charming little boy. Don't be fooled. He is nothing but a clever manipulator, particularly when it comes to sleeping. And I'm onto his tricks. No more unnecessary bottles (clearly he is not malnourished nor does he miss many meals). No more unnecessary walks around the house with the purpose of soothing. No more unnecessary trips to the swing or bouncy seat (he's so big that they barely swing/bounce anymore). Nope. We're done. The new mantra is self-soothing...all the way to sleep.

Showdown will begin tonight and it will be of an unknown duration. What is certain is that Syed and I will prevail...or at least I will (Syed may be on his own for this one once I am back traveling). It may be a painful, bitter, sleep deprived few nights, but it's time. Syed Brian is stubborn and determined. Fortunately, his mother knows about those tendencies all too well, as she [might] be partially responsible for instilling them into him. At least that is what his father says...

For those parents out there who have been in similar situations, please feel free to share some tips in the comments section about what you found useful in teaching your children to sleep. I'm happy to consider suggestions, appreciate your stories, and would enjoy commiserating. Or feel free to mock us, too.

To Syed Brian, I have the following message: Sweet dreams, my son. I love you. Now bring it on.

Happy Holidays

Best wishes this holiday season!

Yes, I know that Syed Brian isn't smiling. But, every single one of us is looking at the camera. And that is an accomplishment in and of itself given that we used the timer feature on the camera. For 2009, it's as good as it's going to get.

Dear Syed Brian (Vol. 1 Iss. 11)

11 months. And everyone is still alive…and smiling (for the most part). You have given your mom and dad a run for their money in the past month, thus the fact that this letter is being written almost a week late. We have barely been able to keep up with you! You are 100% boy and are beginning to live on the mischievous side of life.

You managed to escape from your parents’ supervision more than once this month by being stealthy in your retreat. When silence rules the house, it is certain that you are in the process of learning a new task or exploring an area that perhaps is better left unexplored. Case in point: bathrooms.

You LOVE toilets and bathtubs. Apparently the water in a toilet bowl is just too much to resist. More than once we have found you dropping items into the toilet to see what kind of splash they make (Shame on us for not learning sooner to close the lid). And when we do remember to close the toilet lid but not the door, you find that unrolling the roll of toilet paper is great fun. The roll seems to spin endlessly and it provides minutes of sheer entertainment for you. When you are allowed entry to the bathroom for the obligatory bath, you are thrilled with the permission to play in the bathtub! If allowable, you would spend much of your play time in the bathtub, even sans water. Splashing and playing you’re your toys provides you with much entertainment. Thus, perhaps not surprisingly, the bathroom is now as secure as Fort Knox. Only humans with dexterity enabling the opening of the door are allowed to enter.

When you’re not playing in the bathroom, you can be found on the stairs. Not only are you extremely efficient at climbing up the stairs (mastered in previous months), you are now very skilled at going down the stairs. It only took a few instances of landing on your forehead to make you realize that perhaps going down the stairs in a reverse fashion on your belly might be less painful and more successful. This was reassuring to your dad and I that there might be some executive functioning happening in your cerebral cortex after all.

Further evidence of executive functioning is your sudden fascination with books. This is extremely pleasing to us as you will sit by yourself, look at your books, talk to them, and attempt to “read” them to us. You prefer some books over others; books relating to robots, monsters, and animals seem to be your preferred reading material.

Curtains are another source of fascination to you. You like to play peak-a-boo in the curtains and style them in different ways. Fortunately, you have not yet managed to pull the curtains down…However, I’m also fairly certain that now that I’ve written this, next month will be a follow up where you have successfully pulled down the curtains. *Sigh*

Upon the completion of any of these tasks, or any of the other that you have mastered, you like to punctuate it with a “high-five.” It’s as if you know that you’re growing, learning, and experiencing more each day. And everything is absolutely worthy of a high-five these days.

Until Next Month…

Love,
Mom

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