Perfektly Mary

Maddie hasn’t crawled out of her crib since that first day! Whew! I just wasn’t ready for a night roaming toddler, even though you all gave me GREAT suggestions on how to transition. I’m sure I’ll use them at some point.

So why the sudden halt to new found freedom?

She was spanked. *Gasp*. Yes, we spanked our precious daughter. I sometimes have such a hard time with trying to be sympathetic and understanding to all sides of parenting. Attached parenting, Baby Wise, spank, don’t spank, breast only, bottle only, Co-sleeping, etc, etc, etc. I certainly respect the fact that every family chooses what works for them, and I’m comfortable with what we’ve chosen. I don’t think I have to feel ashamed that we’ve set our stake in the ground and said “X is what we’ve decided to do”. I don’t have to please everyone, although I often feel I should.

The same night that Maddie has escaped from her crib during an afternoon nap, she attempted it when her Daddy was home that night. (Que foreboding music). We’d finished the round of kisses, prayers and “night nights” and closed the door for the night. 15 minutes later we heard crying. Dustin went in to see what was going on. Maddie was dangling over the side of her crib, stuck and unable to move. It was really dangerous! Prior to bedtime,we’d talked to her about not crawling out and made it clear that if she did, she’d get a spanking. It’s not like we could say “Now Maddie, if you crawl out again, we’re going to have to take your crib away from you”. So when she decided to escape anyways, Dustin swatted her butt. He pulled out the big guns, because to us, this is a big gun issue. Day to day, we discipline with warnings, time outs and taking away privileges, but the big guns come out for impact! And you know what, it worked. She hasn’t crawled out since. She isn’t emotionally scarred and gives us just as many hugs and kisses as before.

So yes, we spanked that little butt and I’m proud of it.