The Glider Is Here

The glider and ottoman finally arrived so Grace and I went to Springfield to pick them up. I have been really excited to try one more way to reduce the self-comforting, rocking behaviors that we still see at night and to encourage her to snuggle and relax in our arms. It breaks my heart every time I see her turning rhythmically with her arm over her head and her thumb in her mouth. It reminds me that she wasn't comforted enough by her caregivers and learned to withdraw into her own movements.We have found that if we hold her close and pat her back/stroke her hair, she will fall asleep easily, but she still rocks anytime she rouses slightly during the night.

Anyway, back to the chair...The first obstacle, of course, was getting the rocker from the van into the house with all of that extra help, but I finally was able to muscle it in the front door. Then Grace had to hold the flashlight (which was totally unnecessary, but kept her busy) while I put in the four bolts. She was completely uninterested in the box and was only mildly interested in the chair. In a rerun of Christmas morning, she just picked up after me and threw away the packing and the directions.

I tried to get her to play in the box, but she just acted confused. I modeled for her, climbed inside, added pillows and a blanket, went with her to get Mr. Feet and Kukla, and even pretended to take a nap, but she really didn't care about it. Later we moved it next to the slide in the family room like a makeshift room addition, but the only thing she really liked about it was the hand holds in the sides which she uses as little peep holes when she hides inside waiting for Mommy and Daddy to find her during hide and seek.

So what do I do with this box?