Among other things, he is a wakeful Jake
I note that I haven't really blogged about Jacob in a long time. It must be hard living in the shadow of Isaac, who does everything with jazz hands. When Meemaw stayed with us the first week of April, every time she'd enter the kitchen Isaac would introduce her, Ed McMahon-style. "It's Meemaw, from Indian-Necklace!" It really is that bad.
Poor Jacob, because he gives one plenty to talk about. No stranger can believe he's only two years old, because he is so big and speaks so well. Already he is an accomplished singer. He belts out his A-B-Cs, nursery rhymes, and many Backyardigans songs. He initiates singing on his own, and then gets in a royal tizzy when Isaac tries to sing along with him. We started putting together big puzzles, like 100+ pieces, as a family in the last week, and discovered in the process that Jacob is really interested and good at it. He alone put together 10 pieces of a T. rex, picking most of the pieces out of the melee by himself. Jacob is our daredevil, who will climb and jump off of things that Isaac will not. He is also our eater. Unlike his brother, Jacob will eat meat. Among his favorite foods are sandwiches containing turkey or salami. When I cooked my first ham a couple months ago, it was love at first sight.
"Wassat?" he asked me, "Zat bacon?"
"No, it's ham. Want to try it?"
"Gimme some." (chew chew chew) "Mmmmm! Ham good! More. MORE!"
He also likes eating vegetables, including salad, and especially raw onions, corn, and the fresh-shucked innards of sugar snap peas.
Unfortunately, he is like his brother in that one arena I prayed he would be different. I used to blog over and over, till everyone's eyes bled, about what a horrible sleeper Isaac was. I have mostly refrained from such griping about Jacob because he is my second child, and, with all second children, I think there is an overwhelming calm that comes from knowing that this, too, shall pass. But there are some times when you just get fed up, you know?
For the last three weeks, Jacob has flatly refused to fall asleep in his bed unless I sit in his doorway, reading a book. Thanks to this, I reread Harry Potters 6 and 7, as well as two new books recommended to me by Carlos and Anthony's mommy, Eat, Pray, Love and The Kite Runner. If you think how this means I'm sitting in his door not just at bedtime, but also at naptime and then whenever he inevitably wakes in the middle of the night, you might not be surprised to hear I that I read over 600 pages last week.
He tells me that he's scared to be alone in his room, you know, because the monsters will get him. This had never been a problem before. He has two Lightning McQueen night lights; I switched one of those out last night for a brighter, nondescript one. I've turned the lights on and showed him how, really, there's nothing under his bed. I've even tried telling him that, hey, you're wearing blue jogpants? Monsters are allergic to blue jogpants! He totally didn't buy that one. A friend at Isaac's preschool suggested I rub him with a dryer sheet before bed and tell him monsters aren't interested in good-smelling boys.
It's getting to the point where nobody has been sleeping much at all for a while now, which is a call to action. If anybody has any suggestions, I would really like some advice.
Poor Jacob, because he gives one plenty to talk about. No stranger can believe he's only two years old, because he is so big and speaks so well. Already he is an accomplished singer. He belts out his A-B-Cs, nursery rhymes, and many Backyardigans songs. He initiates singing on his own, and then gets in a royal tizzy when Isaac tries to sing along with him. We started putting together big puzzles, like 100+ pieces, as a family in the last week, and discovered in the process that Jacob is really interested and good at it. He alone put together 10 pieces of a T. rex, picking most of the pieces out of the melee by himself. Jacob is our daredevil, who will climb and jump off of things that Isaac will not. He is also our eater. Unlike his brother, Jacob will eat meat. Among his favorite foods are sandwiches containing turkey or salami. When I cooked my first ham a couple months ago, it was love at first sight.
"Wassat?" he asked me, "Zat bacon?"
"No, it's ham. Want to try it?"
"Gimme some." (chew chew chew) "Mmmmm! Ham good! More. MORE!"
He also likes eating vegetables, including salad, and especially raw onions, corn, and the fresh-shucked innards of sugar snap peas.
Unfortunately, he is like his brother in that one arena I prayed he would be different. I used to blog over and over, till everyone's eyes bled, about what a horrible sleeper Isaac was. I have mostly refrained from such griping about Jacob because he is my second child, and, with all second children, I think there is an overwhelming calm that comes from knowing that this, too, shall pass. But there are some times when you just get fed up, you know?
For the last three weeks, Jacob has flatly refused to fall asleep in his bed unless I sit in his doorway, reading a book. Thanks to this, I reread Harry Potters 6 and 7, as well as two new books recommended to me by Carlos and Anthony's mommy, Eat, Pray, Love and The Kite Runner. If you think how this means I'm sitting in his door not just at bedtime, but also at naptime and then whenever he inevitably wakes in the middle of the night, you might not be surprised to hear I that I read over 600 pages last week.
He tells me that he's scared to be alone in his room, you know, because the monsters will get him. This had never been a problem before. He has two Lightning McQueen night lights; I switched one of those out last night for a brighter, nondescript one. I've turned the lights on and showed him how, really, there's nothing under his bed. I've even tried telling him that, hey, you're wearing blue jogpants? Monsters are allergic to blue jogpants! He totally didn't buy that one. A friend at Isaac's preschool suggested I rub him with a dryer sheet before bed and tell him monsters aren't interested in good-smelling boys.
It's getting to the point where nobody has been sleeping much at all for a while now, which is a call to action. If anybody has any suggestions, I would really like some advice.
posted by Claire at 6:22 PM
2 Comments:
Alas, I have no suggestions for getting your boy to sleep without a doorway reader but here are some favorite books(-: I just reread Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson and decided I should read his East of the Mountain again as well.
"This too shall pass" is probably your mantra for this behavior and many others to come.
Lots of best wishes Claire, His daddy was the very same. I would pound on the walls to show him no monster could possibley get through the walls. Do you think the monsters could be within. Ha!Ha!
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