Our first battle with the time-out rug was not the last. Over the holiday break (John had two weeks off work), we (well, mostly John) worked on more time-outs and had a few more battles lasting 15 minutes or even more. I resigned my post in the time-out department for a little while, since it is too hard to physically keep putting him back on the rug. However, there has been some improvement and the last few times Z has actually sat on the rug the first time we put him there. And I did successfully use the rug all by myself one time. Yeah!
Man, oh man, though, it is not easy. Being a parent takes a lot of discipline and endurance. Who knew it would be so hard to outlast a two year-old? And I honestly don't know how single parents do it. If I didn't have John to stay firm and consistent during that whole process, I would have failed immediately. Z has become highly adept at emotional manipulation. He knows exactly how to cry "MMaaa--ma" to get me. I'm going to claim that pregnancy hormones make me especially susceptible, but he does have some power over me. For some women, a crying baby is the ultimate tyrant. For me, the more he is able to communicate, the more power he wields. If he knew that, he would be talking in paragraphs by now. (Smile)
That's it for now. I'm going to work on Z's room this morning while we have a babysitter. Lot's of rearranging and prioritizing to do to get ready for baby girl.
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