Cribs

Eli has had a pretty uneventful few days. His teeth have been bothering him more than normal (though I fully realize the first two years he will ALWAYS be teething), so there have been some fussy days in recent past. On Friday Eli spent the entire morning (from 9:15am until 11:00am when we had to leave for his music class) in his crib. It was not a punishment; it was completely Eli's preference and choice. In the midst of breakfast Eli started pitching a major fit and didn't stop when I took him out of his high chair, when I put him down, when I picked him up, when we went upstairs....you get the picture. Finally I thought, "I'll put him in his crib for a minute to see if that calms him and then we'll move on from there." (Note: Eli has a blanket that he sleeps with that he absolutely loves. (I've nicknamed it the "magic" blanket.) It's use is restricted to the crib only though, except for rare exceptions like a plane ride. Sure enough, once he was in the crib with his blanket he immediately calmed. Even though he wasn't acting tired, and he'd only been up for 45 minutes with a full 12-hour night's sleep under his belt, he put his head down and stuck his thumb in his mouth. (That is another trick of the blanket. Eli doesn't typically suck his thumb, but once he sees or feels his blanket, the thumb is like a magnet to his mouth.) So he calmed and reached out his arms like he wanted out of the crib. I picked him up but he was barely over the rail when he started to complain again and reach back for his crib. We repeated this three or four times before I realized he just wanted to be in there and he was happier in there. I walked away and started laundry, coming back to check on him every few minutes. He was happy as a clam, singing, humming, pointing...all the while clutching his blanket. That kid stayed in there (un-entertained by me) for almost two hours. He did nod off at the end, getting a short little snooze before we left, but for the most part, he was awake, disproving any theory I might have had about him being tired. Go figure...sometimes this kid just wants to lie around in bed all day!

Another oldie but goodie in his crib: his aquarium. Eli not only knows how to turn it on and off, but he knows how to adjust the volume and how to change the 'station'. (There is a button to toggle the music/sounds available). It is rare for me to come into Eli's room in the morning and not find Eli lying on his blanket, on his stomach with his knees under him and his thumb in his mouth as he stares at the aquarium which he turned on minutes before.