Crisis Parenting

It seems like as soon as I successfully transition my kids into a new stage something happens and I go into what I call crisis parenting mode. You know that mode of parenting where your goal is to keep your child feeling stable and connected and it often means letting things slide a bit. Since my surgery we have been in full on crisis parenting mode. I have never been away from my girls for an extended period of time and parent with a very attached style especially when my kids are babies. Since Little C is not yet a year this whole experience has been the hardest on her but it has also been very difficult on my other two girls. My two oldest the Princess and the Ballerina share a double bed and until a few months ago either my husband or I would lay between them in the bed until they fell asleep. We had just transitioned to not laying with them and instead sat in the room until they fell asleep when I had my surgery. Since kids are not exactly known for there gentleness I have had to be very careful in the way I interact physically with my girls and this has left us feeling disconnected. Add to that the fact that I was gone for 4 days in the hospital and then in bed for another week at home they are sorely missing mommy. So now I find myself back in bed sitting in between them as they drift off to sleep. Each girl firmly pressed against me gripping my arm in reassurance that I am here and not leaving. Tonight as I sat there watching my angels drift to sleep I could only laugh as I thought of the time it took to get them out of this habit and now we are right back in it again. I am not upset though because my kids come first and right now they need their mom and they need to physically hold her for reassurance that she won’t disappear for 4 days again.

*This is a picture my talented sister in law took of our family when we did our family photo shoot right before my surgery. She did an awesome job!