Yesterday ended up being a test of patience, although I'm not sure whose patience was being tested. It all started early, early Monday morning, at about 2 a.m. when I tried again to go to sleep. My tossing and turning woke Matt up. He apparently had already not been sleeping well (since that is the only way he'll wake up in the middle of the night) and was unable to fall back asleep. Needless to say, we were both exhausted yesterday morning.
I got a nap when Patrick slept. Matt didn't have that luxury. He was struggling enough at work that his boss suggested he take the afternoon off to catch up on sleep. From what I understand, Matt didn't argue. Instead of sleeping the whole afternoon, though, he decided it was a good opportunity to take the Saturn in for some work. (Side note: Yes, it is having problems, our brand new car. It's quite frustrating really. We're getting mixed messages about just how serious the problem is, too. Either way, it's something that should have been caught long before we took possession of the car.)
Several hours later, I was starting to get a headache and Matt had only snuck in about fifteen minutes for a nap. The dealership called to say the Saturn was done. That meant Matt and I needed to get Patrick up from his nap to go pick it up. Fortunately he woke up about that time, but we were anxious to get the car, so we didn't feed him or anything. He usually isn't too hungry after his afternoon nap, so we thought we'd be fine. We also thought we'd be back within a few minutes of the time he would need his meds.
Of course things couldn't work that way. We hit every single light red on the way to the dealership. Patrick was remarkably well-behaved, though. As long as I was sitting next to him to distract him and keep a steady circulation of toys to play with, he was fine.
Then Matt got out to claim the Saturn and I hopped in the front to drive home. The second I pulled onto the road, the screams started in the backseat. Patrick suddenly realized he didn't like riding in the car, especially when he was hungry and needed medicine, when I wasn't riding next to him. (Yes, I still ride next to him in the backseat. Overprotective parent and all...either that or I simply don't want to put up with the screaming when I can't reach him to calm him down.) I hit almost every light red on the way home, too. This time the ride seemed infinitely long because I also had to suffer through the most tormented screams ever. Hearing my voice only seemed to set him off worse, too. He didn't want to hear me if he couldn't see me too. I finally just gave up and drove, pretending everything was fine.
Of course while I drove with a chorus of screams behind me, my phone kept ringing...as if I needed one more thing to think about. The first time, it was my mom. I'm afraid I was kind of rude to her, distracted and upset as I was by Patrick. There were times I couldn't even hear what she was saying over the screams. I remember one thing she said, though. She commented that the long drive would teach Patrick patience.
Now I wonder about that. Did Patrick really learn patience on the drive yesterday? I know mine was certainly tested, but did it teach me any patience either? In a way, I think Patrick has learned patience over the last few months. He isn't any better about yelling when he wants something or giving up when he doesn't get it right away. Now he is just more persistent. I think he has learned that if he screams long enough, he always gets what he wants, even if he would have gotten that anyway if he had waited without screaming. It would be nice to deny him what he wants sometime when he screams for it, just to teach him not to scream, but he only screams for things he needs usually. I don't feel right withholding food from him when he screams because he's hungry, or a nap when he's tired. He doesn't simply want enough things yet for me to have any real power over him, as far as disciplining is concerned. Because of that, I suppose I will be the only one of us learning any patience for quite some time.
I got a nap when Patrick slept. Matt didn't have that luxury. He was struggling enough at work that his boss suggested he take the afternoon off to catch up on sleep. From what I understand, Matt didn't argue. Instead of sleeping the whole afternoon, though, he decided it was a good opportunity to take the Saturn in for some work. (Side note: Yes, it is having problems, our brand new car. It's quite frustrating really. We're getting mixed messages about just how serious the problem is, too. Either way, it's something that should have been caught long before we took possession of the car.)
Several hours later, I was starting to get a headache and Matt had only snuck in about fifteen minutes for a nap. The dealership called to say the Saturn was done. That meant Matt and I needed to get Patrick up from his nap to go pick it up. Fortunately he woke up about that time, but we were anxious to get the car, so we didn't feed him or anything. He usually isn't too hungry after his afternoon nap, so we thought we'd be fine. We also thought we'd be back within a few minutes of the time he would need his meds.
Of course things couldn't work that way. We hit every single light red on the way to the dealership. Patrick was remarkably well-behaved, though. As long as I was sitting next to him to distract him and keep a steady circulation of toys to play with, he was fine.
Then Matt got out to claim the Saturn and I hopped in the front to drive home. The second I pulled onto the road, the screams started in the backseat. Patrick suddenly realized he didn't like riding in the car, especially when he was hungry and needed medicine, when I wasn't riding next to him. (Yes, I still ride next to him in the backseat. Overprotective parent and all...either that or I simply don't want to put up with the screaming when I can't reach him to calm him down.) I hit almost every light red on the way home, too. This time the ride seemed infinitely long because I also had to suffer through the most tormented screams ever. Hearing my voice only seemed to set him off worse, too. He didn't want to hear me if he couldn't see me too. I finally just gave up and drove, pretending everything was fine.
Of course while I drove with a chorus of screams behind me, my phone kept ringing...as if I needed one more thing to think about. The first time, it was my mom. I'm afraid I was kind of rude to her, distracted and upset as I was by Patrick. There were times I couldn't even hear what she was saying over the screams. I remember one thing she said, though. She commented that the long drive would teach Patrick patience.
Now I wonder about that. Did Patrick really learn patience on the drive yesterday? I know mine was certainly tested, but did it teach me any patience either? In a way, I think Patrick has learned patience over the last few months. He isn't any better about yelling when he wants something or giving up when he doesn't get it right away. Now he is just more persistent. I think he has learned that if he screams long enough, he always gets what he wants, even if he would have gotten that anyway if he had waited without screaming. It would be nice to deny him what he wants sometime when he screams for it, just to teach him not to scream, but he only screams for things he needs usually. I don't feel right withholding food from him when he screams because he's hungry, or a nap when he's tired. He doesn't simply want enough things yet for me to have any real power over him, as far as disciplining is concerned. Because of that, I suppose I will be the only one of us learning any patience for quite some time.
Labels: Daddy, Feelings, Frustration, Special Events/Outings
2 Comments:
yes it was you with the patience.. lol I cannot stand the sound of a screaming baby and it is hard for me to ignore so hats off to you for keeping going even with the noise.. lol Randie has been having quite alot of tantrums lately as well..
Morgan was doing that same thing the other day. She was screaming bloody murder in the backseat. It was so bad that I pulled off the road onto the grass to check it out and see if the seat belt or something was pinching her. She was fine, she just was aggravated at being strapped down in the car. It was a miserable ride. So I feel your pain.
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