Lesson for Ashraff...

I've posted this in my earlier posting, but I think I should make it a stand-alone post just for my record purposes. So, here's is it...cut and paste from my earlier post...

"Ashraff saw Ultraman Nexus's figurine at one of houses we visited on the way back to KL and he wants to own one too (For our record, the date is 17/10/2007). We immediately made a deal with him that if he can sleep on his own without us patting him on his buttock, we will give him RM1 each time it happens. So far, he has RM4 in his pocket...hehehe (date of our last post : 19/10/2007). We'll let him count the money so he appreciates it. Teach him the value of money. Our plan is as the money reaches RM20, we'll buy him the Ultraman Nexus (altho that Ultraman thingy is more expensive than RM20)...or anything that his heart desires at that time. I hope that this reward-based strategy works well. It's about time he learns to sleep on his own. Come on lah, he's already 3 years old..."

Well, if you have been reading my entries since the last era, you should have known that Ashraff has problem dozing off without any assistance. When he was baby, we had to resort using the pacifier to make him sleep, although we dislike very much the idea of using a dummy. Even with pacifier, we had to carry and rock him to sleep. He didn't know how to lie down, that's the problem. Instead he chose to cry and cry while walking about if he's tired and sleepy. We tried to force him to lie down, so he could sleep, but lagi kuat pakcik tu menjerit! We were left with no choice, but to carry and rock him to sleep. We had to do that till he's about 1 1/2 yo. Imagine a besar panjang toddler being carried and rocked to sleep...imagine how sakit my belakang is...

Then after that, a pat on the buttock with a pacifier on, makes him sleep. That lasted until he's 2 1/2 yo, where he finally decided to wean from pacifier. Alhamdulillah...it was an easy weaning process, but we had to continue patting on the buttock until he falls in deep slumber. Sometimes we patted for 10 minutes, sometimes 20 minutes...sometimes dah nak kat 1 jam pun ada...Imagine how lenguh our tangan was...

Now, he's another step of 'weaning'. Weaning from patting or 'kopok' (as the way Ashraff likes to put it). Alhamdulillah, despite the difficulty in raising Ashraff, Allah makes it easier for us to teach him how to throw away the old and"not so nice" habit. He has been cooperating with us, all the time, from that old carry-and-rock stage, till throw-away-the-pacifier stage, and now patting-the-buttock stage.

Actually we did not plan on what method to use. It all came out of a sudden. Just out of no where, suddenly me or hubby will throw the idea to Ashraff and he will buy it. Like when we wean him from pacifier, all we need to say is "puting ada ulat warna black" and he refused it immediately much to our suprise.

Same goes with this latest idea of buying the Nexus. Hubby had enough of "kopok"ing when he suddenly said "Ashraff, kalau Ashraff tidur tak payah kopok, Ayah beli Ashraff Ultraman Nexus macam kat rumah yg kita pergi tadi." And I added," Macam nilah, Ibu bagi Ashraff RM1 bila Ashraff tidur tak payah kopok. Bila dah banyak-banyak, kita beli Ultraman Nexus." Ashraff was excited and said "Beli Ultraman Nexus macam kat rumah tadi ke?". We both answered "Ya!" and I sempat winked kat Hubby. And he immediately dozed off to sleep. Boleh pulak. Now we realised how mengada this little lad is...

Alhamdulillah, from there on, dah tak berkopok lagi dah Ashraff. He can finally sleep on his own, after 3 years. It makes our life much easier...We can just sleep first if we want too. But what saddens me is that he refused to let me lie on his side sebelum tidur. He will "halau" me away. So unlike before, where he needs me or Hubby to be beside him to pat him before he sleeps. I know I shall miss the days where I lie, hold, cuddle and pat him to sleep, no matter how tiring it is. I will have to accept the fact that my boy has grown up...and soon another step to follow which is letting him sleep in his own room.