Top 10 ways to know your life is filled with Spirit!

I decided to do a top 10 list about how to know that you have a "Spirited Baby/Toddler". Those of you who have one will identify right away, those of you who don't well, you'll just shake your head a little and maybe breathe a little sigh of relief.

10) The nurses in the hospital keep making little comments about her "attitude" and "set of lungs".

9) Even after asking that your baby be kept in the nursery for several hours your second night at the hospital because you are starting to get a feel for what your life will be when you get home with this little strong willed creature and are desperate to get some sleep before you go it alone (with your husband in my case), the nurse, who has probably heard more newborn crying than any mom in the world, comes in, and insists that your wailing, screaming, insistent baby needs you right now, that there is absolutely nothing they can do for her in the nursery.

8) You write long, run-on sentences like the one above about your infant's first days because in reality, it was all a complete, run-on blur.

7) You feel eternally grateful to Tracy Hogg, the Baby Whisperer*, for helping you understand you are not doing EVERYTHING wrong, you just have a "Spirited" baby.

6) You feel mad and upset at Tracy Hogg, the Baby Whisper*, because she has so eloquently articulated what the spirited baby and toddler are like and now you are scared to death!

5) After much hard work and persistance on your part, you start to get things evened out with your baby and get her sleeping and such. This makes you feel accomplished as a parent and like you may just have this "Spirit" under control. And then, everything changes...ie: you get her on a great routine and she's sleeping well, etc. and then for whatever reason she does a complete 180.

4) You dread vacations and other fun happenings in life because you know it will create chaos in your life for an extended period of time due to your child's distinct distaste for any change in the routine. (Mind you I say routine not schedule--its a big laugh to think you can have a spirited kid on set schedule but by the skin of your teeth you can get the same rotation of events going in their life to make things a little calmer).

3) As your baby becomes a Toddler you realize what the terrible two's are but that really they hit around 14 or 15 months and then build up as they approach Two and then just keep going! At this point you become eternally grateful for the Baby Signing Time Videos that your parents bought for her first birthday because at least communication is easier with this little one through signs.

2) Your toddler insists that she can do just about everything by herself and to your amazement she really can. Including helping open the door with the child safety knob on it for another mom at MOPS who couldn't get herself and her child out the door. I kid you not, the mom was getting all frustrated trying to turn that little plastic thing with the button on it, B stepped up and said, "I do it!" and quickly proceded to turn the knob with absolutely no effort. Of course she had been practicing at the group home (where we lived) where we tried to contain her in the 7500 sqft of space with these safety knobs. They stopped our teenage girls from being able to open the door but my then 20 month old daughter could turn the knob and open super heavy fire doors with no problem.

1) You find yourself at the end of the day very thankful that she is asleep (whenever this may be) but also very thankful for the fun ride with a crazy little girl. And on most days, you feel privileged that God thought enough of your parenting skills (which he gave me) to raise this extraordinary child!


**I read Tracy Hogg's The Baby Whisperer which is just an amazing book that helps you understand your baby and helps with routines and such. She is kind of a middle road between attachment parenting and the baby wise movement. This saved my sanity with a newborn!