This very important and mysterious period appears in a child’s first year and continues on through the second.
Zu Yan’s sense of order
I have try to maintain ZuYan’s daily routine in a same order everyday but forget about his sensitive period to order in his environment.
On the first day he came home with mummy from medical center, Zu Yan was placed in a crib in the living hall. At night, he co-sleep with mummy in mummy’s room. Second day, Nanny Cheng came in to help out. From that night till the day of eighteen Zu Yan slept in a crib (moved from living hall) in a room with Nanny Cheng. Day time, he slept in a bouncer or bassinet in living hall. On the night of eighteen, Zu Yan co-sleep with me again. That’s the night, the sleepless night started. He started to cry out until Nanny Cheng came in to cradle him over to her room.
Sleeping in the bassinet. Sleeping in the bouncer.
The first week of second month, I went back to my mother’s place with Zu Yan so that my mother could help out. Still Zu Yan had sleepless night, of course including me and my mother. I am back to my own house then, it took about two weeks for Zu Yan to settle and sleep at night. By four months old, the bassinet was removed and Zu Yan nap in my room during daytime. And, he took sometime to feel secure to nap longer hour. Started in January ( nine months old already), he nap in his playing room and sleep on a mattress on the floor at night. We have sleepless night for a month. He woke up in the night, crawls to the dressing table and practises his pulling skill. Finally, I decided to let him co-sleep with me again. And I noticed he will look at the wall light that he have been staring at since new born and also the newly install ceiling fan, quietly fall into sleep till the next day.
Phew! What a chaotic. I wish I would have started with napping in playing room and co-sleep with me at night. When I think back now, could it be the order of environment that made him sleepless. What do you think?
Last month (10 months old), it was after I changed the curtains in the living hall in the night while he was asleep. The next morning I placed him on the floor. As usual he will makes a few crawl and sits up to look around. The moment he looks up at the curtain he was uneasy and showing unsecure, and crawls to me. After a while, he was calm after comfort and explain by me. I don't think it is the colour of the curtain that make him uneasy. The curtain before is in pale orange, now is in light yellow with white floral pattern.
And there is another occasion which happend in the playing room. There is a power socket at low level. Zu Yan will has a close look, feel, touch daily. One day, he found that there is something wrong with the socket, he makes sounds like " eh, eh, eh" because DaDa had cover up the socket. See, a 9 months old infant can remember his surrounding.
About the use of bouncer, crib, bassinet which is against the Montessori principles? I will explain in my coming post.
