October 7, 2010 by Christine
Charlotte and I are both kind of sick right now... She is sleeping now and I will be soon. Decided I had better post anyway, though!
Charlotte is learning new things and taking on new challenges every day. Lately I have been thinking about this shift toward her more independent life... When she was a newborn I saw the two of us as a single unit. We were a mother-daughter pair, connected in almost the same way as when she was inside me. I had her with me constantly, and during our few times apart, I had a desperate need to have her back with me again.
Things are changing. Though there is still a sort of unexplainable mother-daughter bond, we are no longer one unit. Charlotte is her own wonderful, independent person.
For one thing, Charlotte is weaned. That is, of course, a HUGE change. She was ready, I was ready, and now she hasn’t nursed in two weeks, so I’d call it official.
What else? I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in a while. I took Charlotte with me, hoping against hope that she would actually go to the gym childcare. When we tried this before we left for San Francisco, Charlotte was so distraught at me leaving her in the childcare room that I was unable to work out.
Yesterday I dropped her off. I sneaked back about 5 minutes later to see what she was doing, and she was whining at the door. My first thought was oh, great, no workout for me. I decided to go to class anyway, just in case. About an hour later, I went to the childcare room to pick her up. She was sitting on the floor, playing with a puzzle with another kid. The childcare worker told me that she had been playing the whole time, even playing chase with other kids. This may not seem like a big deal, but considering the level of Charlotte’s separation anxiety just weeks ago, this is huge.
This week Micah has been working in the yard a lot. Charlotte loves going outside and helping her Daddy plant grass.
Charlotte now sleeps in her own big girl bed at night. (Pictures of her room later!) She sleeps in an adult, full-sized bed with a rail on it. This new level of independence is just remarkable. It can take a while to get her to bed, because she can just get up out of bed. Last night I gave her a bath, put her jammies on, played her nighttime music, tucked her in, and said good night. A few minutes she was up out of bed, carrying a book to me. I went back to bed with her, read her her book, and then she laid down on the bed, a huge smile on her face.
In the mornings, sometimes she gets up out of bed and plays in the living room before she comes in to wake me up. I get to sleep a little more, and she has some playtime alone before telling me she is ready for breakfast.
I’m so proud of her. Even though our relationship is changing, I’m so glad to be able to support her as she becomes her own unique and lovely person.
Things are changing. Though there is still a sort of unexplainable mother-daughter bond, we are no longer one unit. Charlotte is her own wonderful, independent person.
Yesterday I dropped her off. I sneaked back about 5 minutes later to see what she was doing, and she was whining at the door. My first thought was oh, great, no workout for me. I decided to go to class anyway, just in case. About an hour later, I went to the childcare room to pick her up. She was sitting on the floor, playing with a puzzle with another kid. The childcare worker told me that she had been playing the whole time, even playing chase with other kids. This may not seem like a big deal, but considering the level of Charlotte’s separation anxiety just weeks ago, this is huge.
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