Out with the old

I thought I'd go back through my posts from 2008 and tie up a few loose ends. Here are some updates from the last six months:

Sleep: We're back to sitting on the couch in Isaac's room and waiting for him to fall asleep, then sneaking out. Even though he's been falling asleep fairly quickly, it still isn't ideal, especially at bedtime when Craig has been putting him to bed. Often Craig falls asleep on the couch himself (sometimes even before Isaac drops off!) and then I don't see him until 11:00 p.m. when he finally wakes up and emerges, groggy and blinking. Well, our sleep strategies are bound to change once the baby is born. Probably for the worse.

Behavior: Isaac is still "misbehaving" and challenging us, but there has been an improvement. I now think some of his very worst behavior was brought upon by time-change-related sleep deprivation. And, honestly, his misbehavior was enhanced by my mindlessly adversarial parenting techniques. I'm working on improving my attitude, so even when Isaac does something that drives me crazy, I'm once again finding deep pleasure in parenting. I can't control him, but I can control my own reactions.

Preschool: I still think Isaac's preschool is a great place, and I appreciate the high-quality teachers, philosophy, and environment. But I'm not so sure it's a great fit for him. Despite his occasional complaints, however, he's not resistant to going, so I think he must have a good time there. But I think he would be better-served by a smaller and quieter school where the teachers have more opportunity to interact with each student at a slower pace, and can actually take the time to model social interaction skills for the kids. However, I don't think the school is hurting him, and there's no way we're going to change schools mid-semester, so we'll stick it out.

Pillows: I now sleep with four pillows -- two under my head (the extra height prevents indigestion), one between my knees and under my belly, and about three weeks ago I had to add another pillow behind my back. I can't quite figure out why, but it seems necessary to lean back against it to counter-balance all the weight in front. Even though our bed is a California king, there's not room for that many pillows, two adults, a nine-month-pregnant belly, a dog, and a toddler. I think Craig is feeling pretty crowded. Hopefully the baby will agree to stay in the co-sleeper attached to the bed.

Baby names: We've had the same names at the top of the list for six months, although now we've narrowed the top five choices down to two or three. None of them are "Leaf," however.