Baby Items

It's still 7 months away, but I can't wait for Kristy and Wayne's baby to be born! I'm in the mood to look at and shop for baby things... little shoes, little clothes, good smelling soap... not that I'm ready for my own right now. Don't misunderstand me. Maybe by the end of the year. But the tiny items are so cute!

Chesney is fast approaching Preschool age - the days of toddler-hood are drifting away. She is on the fence about being a "baby" and being a "big girl." As it happens for all of us, with new phases come new responsibilities. She is asking to go to the potty more often now. On the weekends and days Cory is home, she dresses in panties. We're not ready for the full transition, but we're working on it. She is also realizing that thumb-sucking is for babies. I wasn't opposed to it too much at first (especially when she was falling asleep), but she sucked them so much that they started to crack and one almost bled. Now we put THUM medicine on them before she goes to bed and it helps to remind her that they are "sick" and need to heal.

A couple of nights ago she asked to watch Pocahontas around her bedtime, while we wanted to watch a movie not suitable for her. We agreed that as a special treat she could watch her movie in our bedroom and sleep there. While Cory got up to put the movie on for her, she crawled in my lap to say good night. She gave me a hug and said, "I'm a big girl." I smiled, "Yes, you are. You potty in the toilet. You wear panties. And you stopped sucking your thumb. Do you know what else big girls do?" "What?" "They go to sleep in their own beds. Sometime soon, you need to start doing that too." She sat there for a while and said, "But I don't have a TV in my room." "Well, that means you'll have to sleep without one." After pondering this, she looked at me and stated, "No. I think I'll have to ask Santa for one... with a remote control."

Wow.

As it happens now, Cory rocks her to sleep then places her in her bed once she's sleeping. Around 2:30 am, she wakes up and comes to our bed. I have given up on trying to put her back down as she only wants her daddy. So, she sleeps in between us. I am tired of the situation, but Cory loves it, so it is a constant debate in our house. Now, I hate to break one bad habit by starting another, but we may just have to talk about that TV idea. I don't want a bunch of parenting critizism, but what would you do in a similar situation? Try to answer the question as if your spouse wanted the child in bed with you and you didn't... or the other way around.