Author: Marie Haigh

She can’t sit up straight for very long, tipping over in a matter of minutes. Yet, oh how she loves to try again and again.

News Flash: For the past few days, Elly has been going to bed at a more reasonable hour. Last night, she was in bed by midnight which is a huge improvement over the 3am bedtime.

So, what was the trick?
No trick. Dan and I still hadn’t come up with a Plan B.
No, it just took Elly turning 5 months old.

I am halfway through making Elly her 1st of many Christmas gifts.

Here’s my question:
Should I wrap the gifts I make for Elly and put them under the tree?

On one side, Elly will only be 10.5 months old. Any gift opening will have to be done by Dan or I. Thus, I will be making Dan open a bunch of gifts for Elly that he has already seen and knows about. It seems a bit silly when you look at it that way. Rather than go through the ritual for tradition’s sake, we could focus on having a relaxing Christmas morning before we head over to family and the mayhem begins. (I do anticipate that Elly will be spoiled rotten).

On the other hand, it will be Elly’s 1st Christmas. There is a part of me that wants to lavish her with gifts even if she doesn’t understand why and can’t participate in the unwrapping. Plus, I will be making several gifts for her between now and Christmas: 4 dresses and a duvet cover. I suppose I could always place them directly in her closet.

My practical side says No. The mother in me is conflicted. The traditionalist says Yes.

Elly is a night owl. She doesn’t turn in for the night until 3am.

She started this habit about a month after she was born. Most of the info I read seemed to suggest that she would eventually grow out of it so I didn’t fight it. When Elly turned 4.5 months old, my patience began to wear thin. Enough was enough. I wanted to go to sleep with my husband and wake up sometime before noon.

With Dan on my side, I concocted a plan to wage war against Elly’s natural internal clock. The plan required us getting up at 7am no matter what time we went to bed the night before. The day was to be filled with a normal level of stimulation for Elly. At night, I would start my nursing and soothing regimen earlier.

The 1st night brought no change. The 2nd night saw little improvement as Elly went to sleep an hour earlier. The 3rd night we were back to status quo. The 4th night was the worst with Elly staying up till 4am.

It was after night 4 that I waved the white flag.

Little Elly has won Round 1.

Dan and I need to regroup and come up with a plan B.

During our engagement and the first years of our marriage, we had 2 cars. However, once we moved to an apartment that was within walking distance to the train station, my car sat idle. When the battery died, we donated it rather than maintain a car I only used once a month.

Since Pottstown hasn’t had a train running through town in many years, I had come to rely on a bicycle to get me from point a to point b. Unfortunately, Elly won’t be road worthy until she is one year old. Her neck just isn’t strong enough to handle the bumps of the road until then.

At first, I was only taking her places that were within walking distance from home. Then came the day when I needed to travel outside the mile radius surrounding our home in order to attend a doctor’s appointment. I mentioned it to Dan and he complained about having to rent a car again. It started to make sense for us to buy a 2nd car just to avoid the rental fees. Determined that there was another way, I looked into public transportation.

I had known for years that Pottstown had a bus system. What I didn’t know is how extensive the system was. Come to find out I could get almost anywhere within the town limits along with a few shopping plazas right outside of Pottstown.

The day I took my first bus ride with Elly was so empowering. I didn’t need to wait until Dan returned home with our only car. I didn’t need to rely on our local Enterprise. I could get to all my favorite stores in Pottstown anytime during the day that I wanted.

No more did I have to listen to Dan’s request/plea for a 2nd car. The day I relayed my bus ride experience to Dan was the very day that he conceded defeat.

I had won. We shall keep our 1-car status.