... right???I love my son more than life itself, but Sundays are getting harder and harder. We bring snacks, books, a bottle, finger puppets... but he is SO SQUIRMY that I get absolutely nothing from church meetings. My brain feels all kindsa' scrambled once our 3-hour stretch is over. I have five months until this kiddo goes to nursery, which is roughly 20 Sundays. I don't know if I can handle 20 more Sundays! Thank goodness Ross is such a hands-on Daddy, otherwise I'd be inactive. I look forward to church until we're about 15 minutes into Sacrament Meeting, and then I realize it's practically impossible to get Gabe to sit still for 30 seconds at a time. He's not tired... he takes a nap right before church. And if he doesn't take a nap, it's World War III. If Gabe had it his way, he'd spend the first hour of church climbing up and down the stairs that lead to the podium. Obviously, that won't happen. So please, mommies of the world... share your ideas with this scrambled egghead as to how I can quietly entertain my 13-month old during church. I'm desperate!
*T
8 comments:
I don't know if this is possible in that way too crowded church building, but we used to always take britton into the relief society room and let him loose with his toys, then just crank up the volume on the speakers, since it broadcasts from the chapel. it worked for everyone; no one else was in there to be distracted, he was free to run and roam, and i didn't get worn out. good luck!! i feel your pain. :)
From the start we decided to NOT let our kids down on the floor. It was hard at first but has really paid off in the end. We bring the normal selection of cars, coloring books, lots of treats. I think during this hard stretch you just have to chalk it up to alesson in obiedence. It will get better!!
I promise EVERY mom in the world goes through this and I swear it hits when they turn 1! We are going through that phase with Tytan right now too! The only advice I can give you is for sacrament meeting. I am big on NOT letting them get off my lap when we leave sacrament meeting. I promise they pick up on things like that. If I cry or scream or wiggle enough I will get my way and run around outside. I start at a very young age not letting them down when you take them out because then when you go back in its like heaven because there is toys and treats and things like that. Believe me they will cause such a fuss outside of sacrament that you might have to take them into another room. But it eventually helps me kids be better in sacrament. The other meetings you are just going to have to read the lessons at home for spiritual fulfillment because I do spend most of my time out of the classroom... Seriously who can expect to have there 12-18 mon. old sit on their lap for 3 hours not making a peep? No one. O also another trick I do is I have a bag full of only church toys and they ONLY get them at church to play with that way they are not already bored with them. Good LUCK trieste. We all go through it and I am sure you are doing a GREAT JOB!
great ideas! thanks for the post and comments!
Sorry, i have no ideas. I'm new at this too. Good luck Triest
One thing my mother-in-law did was when they were being squirmy, noisy, etc. was to take them into an empty room (even at this young age) and hold them so they couldn't get down or squirm, yes, they wouldn't like it, but that meant that being in the chapel was the freedom - and you needed to sit quietly and calmly or you would be taken out - she said it worked for all her kids (the key was consistency). Another thing she says (I have a wise mother-in-law) is that most parents think discipline is a four-letter word and she agrees wholeheartedly: L-O-V-E. Kids need consistency and discipline. You are doing great! :) Hope to see you guys soon.
Hey Tri,
I always makes sure that we sit in a pew on the side of the chapel, instead of in the middle. That way you can sit on the outside of the pew and then he can run back and forth between you and the wall. Granted, we don't have a huge ward so we can always have the pew to ourselves. So this might not work in your ward!! Also, sometimes Grayer will crawl under the pew and go and sit with another family for a few minutes. This doesn't bother me at all because he is usually a lot better behaved with someone else. (Also, the people in the ward love to have him for a little bit!) Then when he gets bored or when he realizes that he is not sitting with us he comes back. So if Gabe is not "stranger danger" and ever crawls under the pew, don't be afraid to let others help entertain him, I promise they will love to have your cute little boy for a while!! Next, depending on how big your nursery is... ask the nursery leader if it would be okay if Gabe came in and played for an hour while either you or Ross stays with him. That way at least one of you can go to class. Then rotate the next week!! That is what Andy and I did before Grayer was 18 months. One of us always stayed with him so that the nursery leaders wouldn't get overwhelmed with extra kids. That is all my ideas!! I wish the nursery age was 12-15 months instead of 18 months!! Let me know what you think!! I hope it helps!
Love ya!
I hear you sister. In my husband's aunt's ward in Utah they do an "intro to nursery" program where they let 16 month olds come to nursery for 1 hour to help adjust them to going to nursery. Doesn't that sound wonderful? I suggested it to my Bishop, who smiled and reminded me that "We are not in Utah." It's just hard when Jon teaches the 2nd and 3rd hour and I am the YW president. We just take turns and juggle. Sometimes Jon's mom takes Lucy (but she's the RS President) but between the 3 of us we manage to make it one way or another! :) You only have you and Ross so you're down one adult...good luck! 20 weeks will pass in no time!!!! ;)
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