The Change Will Do Me Good

We've hit some major milestones around here lately. And I'm not sure which of the two have been more fulfilling: a "grown-ups" weekend away OR my baby bird (Elias) sleeping through the night. It's pretty amazing that BOTH of these events occurred at the same time. But then again, as a parent, you just HAVE TO expect the unexpected!
Mike and I spent the weekend away in Boston. He was part of his best friend's wedding and I was the lucky guest on his arm. We had dinner out and went to a comedy club on Friday night with the rest of the guests who would be attending the wedding on Saturday afternoon. We decided to use up every spare minute of our trip (you know, make the most of our kid-free weekend) and managed to fit in an amazing little visit to Boston's North End on Saturday morning. It was a breath of fresh air to stroll the narrow, cobble-stoned streets of such a historic city. We peered into every Italian bistro, bakery and cheese store we passed. We even fit in a little bit of history as we followed the "Freedom Trail" and visited "The Paul Revere House" and the "Old North Church". It was like a mini-vacation to my most-coveted vacation destination: ITALY.

By the time we returned home on Sunday afternoon we were VERY ready to see Sophia, Nicolas and Elias.

And although the children were thrilled to see us, Nicolas later
admitted that he had "forgotten about" us. How sad! I asked him, "Well, why
did you think you were staying at Auntie's house?"He told me he thought that
he just lived there!!

What kind of kick-in-the-pants to motherhood is that? My heart just about sunk (as I chuckled) and thought (pathetically) about all the time I've committed to being at home with my children, reading to them, bathing them, giving them stimulating and creative ways to express themselves through play (instead of flicking on the TV for a bit of Barney), feeding them wholesome food (in my head it's always healthy, I think I tried to forget about the munchkin donuts I was tossing to them in the car 2 weeks ago!), snuggling and kissing them, forsaking all other activities between the hours of 7 am and 7 pm. Was it all really worth it? Did they even care that I have been "at home" for them? Before I started a major pity-party (half-heartedly, while the other half of my heart just laughed at how simple and innocent children's minds/hearts can be) about not making a difference in my children's lives, I quickly thought about the positive side of Nicolas' statement.

"Wait, maybe I'm actually a GOOD MOTHER! Maybe my children are independent and secure and know how much their parents love them EVEN WHEN THEY'RE OUT OF THEIR SIGHT! Maybe, just maybe, I don't need my children to fall apart every time I step out of the room to know that THEY LOVE ME!"

Now this was encouraging, just the type of moral boost that I needed after 48 hours away from my children.

Now, about that OTHER milestone, you know the one about Elias learning to self-soothe and put himself back to sleep at night... If you have read my post "Still Waiting" you know that I have been blessed with (okay, plagued with) children (mainly these boys!) who just love to wake up and nurse at night. I was patiently waiting for Elias to join the ranks of his sleeping-through-the-night brother and sister, but I certainly wasn't holding my breath over it. Well, thanks to my mother, who joyfully cared for Elias while we were away, we came home to some good news: ELIAS HAD SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT. I guess it's like the old saying, "Out of sight, Out of mind". I was thrilled with the fact yet secretly feared that once WE were home that he would go back to his old ways (maybe he would be able to just smell me from down the hall and that would trigger a waking). But after two nights on our own now, I can say with confidence that it is the real deal (props to Nannie)- Elias is, indeed, sleeping through the night. I think the change will do me good.