Late October at home

Elliott is not napping. Have I said that already?

We are doing quiet time in his room every day, but it's getting shorter because it's driving me crazy. No 2-3-hour chunk in the middle of the afternoon leaves more time for things like trying on his Halloween costume and having picnics. The day we went to the pumpkin patch 35 min. away, he still didn't sleep on the way home (though that might have been because we carpooled with another mom and her daughter, the girl Elliott has childcare with on Wednesdays).

We did have a first, though: Elliott fell asleep on the couch with the TV on while Grandpa Jim was watching CNBC talk about the stock market. Of course, I'd gotten used to him not napping and then going to bed early, so I was hoping he'd fall asleep that night as soon as we got in the car to go to New Jersey for the Holistic Moms Network Natural Living Conference. Not so, after a 4:30-6:00 p.m. nap! Instead we watched the moon rise from Maryland to Pennsylvania. I meant to write a poem about it. With a non-napper and more tutoring taking up evenings (plus less daylight means I actually want to go to bed at a decent hour), free time has been scarce.




Since he had a bit of a cold a few weeks ago, Elliott has been sleeping less soundly at night - waking often around 12 or 1 and being soothed usually pretty easily and then waking around 3 or 4 and wanting me but having to accept that we are not nursing until after 5:30. He's still on his double futon on the floor. We bought a single real twin bed but didn't get to assembling it this weekend. Maybe we'll put it together in our room over a few days and then let him get used to it there for a week while I finish trying to make him some curtains that actually darken the room in the afternoon and try to put up a rainbow silk canopy. It's clear that he's not fully okay with being alone all night right now, and we do love having him close, but we also want to help him see his space as calm and safe. And I like being able to go into my room after he's asleep!