Mom knows best

Okay Mom. Took your advice. It was good advice. Thanks for giving it.

Talked to my Mom on the phone today and explained how I was a bit overwhelmed with Elijah. Oh he's cute and everything. A big snuggler. Great smile. Slobbery kisses anytime he can give them. Melts my heart continually.

But holy cow the kid is in to EVERYTHING.

I wonder how he compares to other eight months old? Maybe it was Isaac who was abnormally non-typical and as a result Elijah's is typical? Isaac never put stuff he found on the ground in his mouth. He never touched outlets. He never pulled things over on himself. Elijah? At least once an hour. When Isaac leaves the room, we don't worry about him. When Elijah is out of eyesight, we panic.

Hang on. Laundry basket just got pulled down off the couch.

Lamps. Cords. Papers. Outlets. Fuzz. Garbage. You name it, Elijah Luke will find it.

My current plan works okay. I have our living room sectioned off as depicted in the picture below:

This creates a good strategy. I can put Elijah inside the sectioned area, but Isaac is able to crawl over the foot stool so that he can play with Elijah when he wants or get some privacy when he wants. I can shut all the doors in the hallway and the gate to the kitchen, and allow Isaac a bigger but still safe room to roam. I also have the option of just opening the nursery door or opening the gate to the kitchen and giving him even more room.

I then have two options with Scrubs. He can be with us outside the footstool or, if he is especially "giddy" he can just be in the kitchen. Oh and he can be outside too although he doesn't like to stay out there for very long. (Dalmatians are very people-oriented dogs.)

If I am being especially attentive, I can move the footstool so all three of my little ones can meander anywhere they want. I shut all the doors in the hallway and the gate to the kitchen and allow freedom. I have to watch for Elijah wanting to pull down blinds, but otherwise, it's a pretty good secondary option when I feel that we need to give them all some more space. Scrubby likes to sit by the window too so I like to allow him into the living room area sometimes. (He is completely capable of going over the footstool but knows this is not an option for him!)

So the strategy is good. The problem is that when I want to leave the living room area, Elijah doesn't always like that so much. Lately, some crying has ensued. Sometimes I want to go in and do the dishes or try to type an email or something like that.

In sharing this dilemma with my Mom, she suggested putting my extra pack-n-play in the kitchen area so that Elijah can sit in that. Unless I am watching him like a hawk, he just can't be in the kitchen. The dog's food bowls, outlets, my computer, drawers . . . you name, he goes for it without a seconds delay.

So yesterday I put Elijah in the pack-n-play in the kitchen while I cleaned the stove. I think it will be helpful. Of course, this new strategy brings about its own set of new things to think about. For instance, as you can tell from the picture at the top, there are two children in the pack-n-play. Isaac wanted to be in there with Elijah. This means wrestling and sitting on each other and tears and the like. In addition, when Isaac wants out of the pack-n-play, this leaves Elijah feeling very lonely and more tears ensue.

I know I'll figure it out. I think I will constantly be searching for my new "normal." Before Elijah became mobile, we had a good system. Now I just need to work out the details again. I'll get there.

Just in time to change again!