Frustrations

I think I am a natural problem solver-as I have been doing some reflection on what my next career path should be, I am finding that I am quick to offer suggestions and solutions when sometimes all that is needed is the ability to listen.

Unfortunately my problem solving skills are at a loss when it comes to Lucas these days. When he cries I know something is wrong but I have no idea where to start finding the answers-I move toys away, I give him different toys, I check his diaper, I talk to him, I pray that it is not his ears again. Last night nothing seemed to work-he was getting cranky when he was eating dinner and was acting tired. So I put him on the floor to play, thinking he would just lean back and take a cat nap. He was fine playing for a while (so I got to actually eat dinner) but in a split second he got hysterical. I thought he might be teething so I got him to cold pacifier-nothing changed. I thought if I rocked him, he would finally give into the sleep. Nope-he was not having it. Finally Marc came home and Lucas seemed to calm down a bit. Maybe I was the problem.

Right now Marc and I are in a battle of wills over the pacifier and feeding him solids. I do not want Lucas to have the pacifier when he is a year old-I hate seeing older kids with it. At this point he should be able to sooth himself-he has just grown too accustome to having it. Marc insists that he doesn't need it during the day yet we send him to daycare each day with it. I know we need to start not giving it to him during the day and gradually stop it at night. He is 9 and a half months old right now-he will be a year before we know it and my fear is that we will have accomplished nothing. Marc says that we need to slowly do it-how much slower can we get than not giving it to him during the day?

The solid food thing is another issue. At the 9 month check up, the doc said we could start giving him food off our plates. I am all for this-the sooner he gets used to having regular food, the better. I do not want to struggle like my sister and sister-in-law have with getting their boys to eat a variety of foods. I know my sister will admit it was because they didn't make Bryce eat what they were. I feel that if the doc says it is OK (within the allergy guidelines) we should not have an issue. Yes he only has 2 teeth but I am not giving him things that are really hard. Plus his gums are strong-all you need to do is have him put your finger in his mouth for you to know he can mash things pretty good. And I would not be giving him things he could easily choke on.

I just feel like it is me against the world lately.