Please tell me it's just a phase

One thing I have been meaning to blog about is Norah’s current Mommy phase. I have read that it is quite common at her age, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with in the meantime. I will say, however, that compared to some of the stories I have read we really don't have it very bad at all. 

Seth and I have had several conversations about whether we (particularly me) are doing anything to encourage the behavior, but neither of us feel that is the case. We are trying to find the right balance of recognizing her emotional needs, staying sane, and not giving in too much. 

One of the biggest challenges with this phase is bedtime. If I am around she wants me to put her to bed every night. If Seth tries, she cries and cries and cries for Mommy. Not pleasant for anyone. It is simply not feasible for me to do it every night, and plus it would rob Seth and Norah of quality time together at the end of the day. 

We toyed with trying to get into an every other night routine, hoping that she would quickly catch on and become comfortable being able to rely on the consistent switch back and forth. 

After gimping along for a little while a night came when I had an evening event. I told Norah I was going bye-bye and that daddy was going to put her to bed. She went through the normal routine with Seth without one mention of mommy. 

Two nights later I went “bye-bye” again. She didn't bat an eye when I started walking toward the door. In fact, she was more concerned that I didn’t have any shoes on. So I put them on and walked out. I stood outside for a few minutes (until I started to sweat) and came back in. 

Two nights later I went “bye-bye” again. This time I didn’t even leave. We told her I was going, she gave me a hug, kiss and zerbert and was very content to march down the hall with Seth. 

While we were in Goshen we told her that mommy and daddy were going bye-bye one night and that grandma was going to put her to bed. She did fine throughout the routine, but wasn’t settling down. I went in after 10-15 minutes of crying in an attempt to keep her from getting too worked up. The first thing she said to me was, “Mommy no bye-bye.” Oops...busted. 

So for now Mommy has an evening event approximately every other night that requires Daddy putting her to bed. I’m not sure how long this will last, but we figure a little deception in this case won’t hurt her in the long run.