The endless quarantine is over! Quarantining with Paul was not all that bad. We just let him have as much screen time as he wanted and I offset that by getting outside with him several times a day. Quarantining was all about doing what I needed to do to be able to work and have him home with me. But he has learned a lot from the aps he uses on his iPad. Like he learned to count by 10s to 100. So screens aren't necessarily the evil thing they are made out to be! Obviously limits are important and we have strict limits on the weekend and no screen time on weekdays. But extra screen time for 10 days is not the end of the world.
Friday was his last day home with me, so we celebrated with a walk with a neighbor. The moms got coffee, Paul got a donut.
Paul tested negative on Friday morning so I felt comfortable having him around kids again. So we went to a classmates' park party on Saturday morning. I love the park parties that his classmates tend to have. Gifts are not requested/wanted so you just show up and the kids play and eat snacks. With a March birthday, a park party is not possible in Minnesota so I am thinking we will have a half birthday party for him in September. The kids will all go to different schools in Minneapolis so it would be nice to have a party with all his buddies during peak weather season.
Phil and Paul went to Phil's mom on Saturday afternoon. It was a warm day so Will and I went to the wading pool at our local park. He wasn't sure what to think at first and wouldn't put down his snacks/water to play. But he eventually got into it!
On Sunday I took Will to swimming lessons. Afterwards I dropped Will off and picked up Paul and headed to the farmer's market/park to meet a friend from school.
So all in all, it was a pretty good weekend. Will is in the midst of a HORRIBLE sleep regression. I don't recall Paul going through this. He screams at bedtime and sometimes wakes during the night. He's also up around 5-5:45. Phil has better luck putting him to bed than I do, so he's been doing Will's bedtime and I do Paul's. I hope things improve soon, especially since we go back to my parents this weekend and will share a room with Will. Le sigh.
9 comments:
Yay for being done with quarantine! Here's to keeping everyone healthy!
I'm so glad you're finally out of the woods. And while I HOPE, HOPE, HOPE Phil manages to avoid COVID completely, he will be significantly more independent with dealing with any quarantine than the kiddos!
Hope the sleeping goes well at the lake. Regressions are normal, but that doesn't stop them from being horrific. And each kid is DEFINNITELY different. Abby was a far more challenging sleeper than Levi and to this day has much lower sleep needs/barely shows fatigue if she is overtired. It's incredible how different siblings can be on these major points of development.
Wishing you full nights and breezy bedtimes. And hooray for the onset of some summer activities like swinging, walks in shorts and a T-shirt, and water fun.
Yay, you're out of quarantine! Finally! So glad your husband managed to dodge it!
Three cheers for Phil -- hope it sticks! You're right about the dehumidifier pic -- you should send it to the company! And glad the quarantine is over and that it wasn't too bad. Onward to summer!
Hooray for park parties and finally being in the clear for a bit hopefully! I was loving the perfect spring weather, but I suppose it is time for those warmer days!
Yes, sounds like Paul's time at home wasn't too bad. There's a time and a place for screens, and quarantine is one of them. You guys also did plenty of other things too. I'll bet in a weird little way you'll be missing him when he goes back to school.
Hope you're surviving the heatwave! And the sleep regression. Neither one will last forever- I know how hard the sleep thing is though. I don't recall my son having it, but my daughter went completely berserk around that age and would wake up in the middle of the might for HOURS. Somehow... we survived.
Thank goodness that's over!! I'm really hoping the rest of your summer is just perfect, with NO illnesses of any kind!! And I would have done the exact same thing you did- screens definitely can have a place and a time, and can be very useful. I also listened to the Mom Hour episode you referenced I think in a comment somewhere, about how Sarah was super strict on screen time and kind of wishes she hadn't been. I agree that you don't want to go too far in the direction, either, of course- but you definitely aren't, and I think it's helpful to look at the "big picture". A little more on a certain day or even week over the span of your...18+ years with him at home is not likely to make a big negative impact of ANY kind.
Woohoo - so glad you guys survived a second quarantine! I'm glad it wasn't too bad with Paul, and I don't think you need to justify giving him lots of screen time. You had to do what you had to do! And now you'll go back to the normal limits.
Here's to a looooooong stretch of everyone in your family being healthy!! You guys have earned it for sure!
Oh, I am so glad you're finally done with quarantine and that Phil was able to avoid Covid altogether. Phew!
Now, don't go out catching anything else for a while, okay?
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