Setting the boundaries

It's that time of year again! Every year, around late October or early November, I get my annual cold. A few nights ago, I had this intense sore throat before going to bed. I knew that when I woke up, it was either going to be gone or I was going to be feeling even worse. The next morning, I didn't feel either better or worse, I felt pretty much the same. However, that night I decided to go to bed a little earlier than usual to get some quality "rest," which is something that I have been lacking for quite a while now. I woke up about two hours later and felt worse. My head was hurting, my nose was stuffy, my throat was scratchy, etc. I ended taking some cold medicine in order to sleep peacefully. Cold medicine? Ahhh, yes. It has been such a long time since I was able to take medicine other than Tylenol to help with my issues. I remember last year I wasn't able to take anything to help my horrible cold because I was pregnant. THAT, was probably the worst cold of my life. I think that we take everything for granted, including something as simple cold medicine. You don't realize how much you appreciate little things until they aren't available to you anymore. This morning, I am happy to say that I am feeling much better. I am still not at my best, but I know that in a few days I will be as good as new.

There is something I learned while being sick, and that is that there is no such thing as a "sick day" when your a mother. No matter how crappy I feel, there is no way that I could just snuggle in bed all day with a bowl of soup. Jayde doesn't understand the fact that I'm sick. I still need to cater to all of her needs, regardless of how I'm feeling. It's not easy being sick with a 9 month old baby. She is everywhere in the house, and I'm always having to watch her every move to make sure she doesn't get hurt. Not only that, but I need to make sure the house is vacuumed and cleaned so she doesn't get a hold of something that shes not suppose to. It sounds easy, but it's not. Every time I put her books back on the shelf, she pulls them down. Every time I put her toys back in the box, she takes them back out. Every day is a day of me cleaning stuff up with her behind me messing it up again. As annoying as all of this sounds, it's not. She's a baby and that's the types of things she enjoys right now at this age. Her getting into everything and making a mess out of my entire house is just a part of her growth and development. I just wish I wasn't sick, because cleaning my house 100 times in a day can be exhausting.

"Mommy! Get up and come play with me!"- Being sick isn't so bad when you get to look at this face!

I'm pretty sure that I mentioned before that Jayde is able to get into a standing position by herself. She has mastered this technique, and now it's all she wants to do. What she has been starting to do lately is cruse, which means she is moving along the furniture. This also means that she is switching between furniture, like moving from the coffee table, to the couch, to the end table, etc. In conclusion, I have no doubt that she will be walking well before her first birthday. Walking is something that she has been determined to do since she knew it was possible. As exciting as this might sound, it is also a little scary. Walking doesn't only mean that she will be able to get into more things, but it also means that the probability of her getting hurt will also increase. As much as I am looking forward to this milestone, I'm also sad. This is going to be her last leap to independence. She will soon not be my little baby anymore, she is well on her way to toddler-hood.

The nice thing about Jayde being older is that she is able to eat what I'm eating. For example, last night we both had chicken and broccoli for dinner. This morning we both had oatmeal with banana for breakfast. Eating with her is not only helping me eat better, but it is also helping her explore newer solid foods. Right now, since she is learning to eat, it is important for her to learn what is good for her to eat. If I fed her nutritious food every night but I sat down at the table with McDonald's, what good would that do for either of us? Right now, she eats what she eats because she has no choice. When she gets older, she will be able to choose the food that goes into her mouth. My goal is that when she is older and gets to make that decision, she will choose the right foods. She is looking at me and listening to my every word and watching my every movement. Who she will grow up to be is going to be strongly influenced by me, so I know that I need to lead by example.

Lunch time! Pasta!

Discipline. Everyone has their own way, and no one agrees on the best way to go about it. What is important to know, is that RIGHT NOW is the good time to start enforcing rules. I feel like I spend half of my day saying "no" because Jayde is spending half of her day testing her boundaries. (No, do not touch the TV. No, do not push the buttons on the DVD player. No, do not put mommy's shoe in your mouth. No, do stand up in the bath tub.) The good thing is that since I say "no" so much, she knows what it means. The bad thing is that she hasn't yet learned to listen. Just as I sit to relax, Jayde will crawl over to the TV, stand up, and start touching it. I will say "no" once, and she will usually look back at me and smile because she knows she isn't suppose to be doing what she is doing. After she doesn't listen, I will have to get up and grab her and then set her on the floor away from where the TV is. I will then look at her and explain to her why I just removed her, "No Jayde, do not touch the TV. The TV is not for touching, it's for looking at." Even though she will eventually do it again, whether it be that day or tomorrow, I know that one day she will know that touching the TV isn't something that she can do. And hopefully when that day comes, touching the TV will be something that she will no longer do. I am not going to lie, it can sometimes be exhausting setting boundaries. I can totally see how some parents let some things slide. However, I refuse to be one of those parents. If for a week I tell her she can't do something, and then the next I'm too tired to enforce it, what will that teach her? It will teach her that the world is confusing and that if she does things long enough I will eventually give in. I am not saying that I am going to be a strict parent, but I want my daughter to grow up to respect the rules that are put in place and to not be out of control like some other children I see.

"NO!!!!!"