Those lying eyes

Interesting.

I have to think that perhaps kids are better liars because often they do not know what they are doing is wrong or incorrect. An adult has (or should have) the reasoning and maturity to know that when they are lying they are acting incorrectly. They will give off visual or verbal signals from this incongruity (eye shifting, pitch changes, etc.). A child fails to give off these signals because there is no disparity in what they are saying and thinking.

These are teaching moments for parents. I agree with the article on how to minimise lying:

• Set a good example. Every time you duck out of a boring social event with a fake headache, your child takes notes.
  
• Stay calm. Accusing in a loud, threatening manner is not the way to get the truth out of a child. ‘Usually children do not lie when it is safe to tell the truth,’ advises Parent24 parenting expert Anne Cawood.
  
• Explain the consequences of lying in a calm, rational way, and offer the child the opportunity to tell the whole truth. Don’t start screaming and shouting again the minute he admits to having done the deed.
  
• Avoid labelling your child a liar. Labels can become self-fulfilling prophesies. Give positive reinforcement to the truth. ‘I am glad you were honest. Now please clean up the mess.’
  

I look to the first as the most important. I realize even now how much Rooster mimics me and his father. Our example has to fall in line with how we want him to behave.

Obviously we are not having issues with Rooster - he's only 1. But we do have this to look forward to and we need a plan of action as to how we will approach lying. Not tolerating it is one thing - teaching our child why it's wrong is another.

Co-sleeping has worked for us

It was never the plan to have him in our room this long (when was the last time everything went right according to plan). We thought 3 months and he would be in his crib in his room. Ha. Well, 3 months rolled around and he had outgrown his co-sleeper, so we moved him into the crib...still in our room. A month and a half later (and many fitful nights) we decided to remove the crib and just have the crib mattress on the floor...still in our room. Then we purchased a twin mattress to replace the crib one...still in our room. We just keep putting it off because we love having him there - and I'm sure he loves us being right there too.

A couple things have changed recently. One is that Rooster is now mobile. He has yet to crawl off the mattress in the middle of the night - his routine is to yelp out, sometimes softly, sometimes quite loudly (I've bolted to a sitting position out of surprise!). But he eventually will and the safest place would be his own room where we can't step on him en route to the bathroom. Another thing is us waking each other up. This was also the reason we avoided bed-sharing - it doesn't work because we both frequently awaken. Currently it doesn't happen all the time, but it does occur and would be greatly decreased in separate rooms. And finally, we are all ready for our own rooms. We like to think 9 months in, 9 months out in terms of where Rooster is in development and (in)dependence from us. He will be 9 months in a few weeks (WOW!) and it is time he slept alone.

We want to ease him in so he will begin to take his naps in his new room using the crib mattress. I'm sure this whole process won't go as smooth as we could hope, but nonetheless we want to start it. It's kinda sad for me and Roscoe. We are so used to having Rooster right there as we sleep, so when Rooster moves to his own bedroom in several weeks, he will be missed.

...and he's off!

Check mark another milestone - Rooster is crawling! Yay!

I thought that all of these steps of independence would be a little sad - he's moving away from me and into his own little person after all. But I haven't found anything but joy! Here I am with my husband continuing the creation of a life. WOW.

Breastfeeding, fathers, and the benefits to mothers

My husband follows this blog because he is a type 1 diabetic. I will write about that soon but for now I will stick with her post.

I love that there is more research being done about the benefits of breastfeeding to both mom and baby. Yes, I see it as superior to formula in every way. Yes, I know there are some reasons why a woman cannot breastfeed and formula is a miracle in these cases. That doesn't change the facts.

I do disagree with this though:

OK Gentlemen, you are excused for today. No hard feelings.

The role a husband plays in breastfeeding is crucial. The more informed men are about breastfeeding and all of it's wonderful benefits and rewards the better it will be for the mom and baby. Roscoe has been so supportive of my breastfeeding relationship with Rooster. He is quite knowledgeable of why I wanted to do it so he has always been there cheering us on. At times I did get very frustrated, and with the emotions and hormones present in my system, it was very refreshing to have his unadulterated encouragement. I'm afraid there are moms out there who do not have supportive husbands that either never try to breastfeed or cut the relationship way short (I've heard sad stories of such at LLL meetings I attend). Support comes in positive words, encouragement, offering assistance, bringing her water/food/anything she needs, etc. With Roscoe's support our breastfeeding relationship has been successful.

Update: more research