Energy within

Do you believe that things -- inanimate objects, material possessions, etc -- have an "energy" about them?

I've always believed (known?) that people exude an energy.  We've all been around those people that can bring the feeling in a room either up or down, depending on their mood.  My former boss was one of those people.  You walked on eggshells around her until she said hello.  With only her body language and that one simple word, you could tell how the rest of the day would go.  Positive or negative, she definitely had a "force" about her. 

Not too long ago, I learned that we (humans) exude a heart energy that can span up to 5 feet around us.  So, when we are feeling stressed, the people around us can pick up on that.  Which is why so often, as a mom, if I'm feeling totally angry or stressed out, my children tend to be a little bit more antsy as well.  Since learning this little tidbit I've worked much harder at remaining calm and it's done wonders.  Of course, it's easier to stay calm now that my hormones are more balanced since coming off sugar, but I digress....

Lately, I've been contemplating the potential that there is energy in the objects around us. 

I often have house envy.  I hate going to people's houses and seeing their clean, clutter-free homes.  Or seeing brand new houses that are perfectly decorated.  Makes me long for things I feel like I'll never have.  But, I've also been in beautiful houses that are cold.  You know the type -- the house that you're worried to sit on anything in case you spill?  I'd like to think that although my house isn't clutter free, or tidy most days, that is exudes a warmth.  I want my house to be a home where people feel comfortable to spill and where the walls are positively soaked with love and laughter. 

Part of the reason I started thinking about this was because the baby seems to have a particular aversion to his crib these days.  Only at night of course.  So I wondered if maybe there is some energy in his room, or his crib, that is contributing to this cycle of terrible sleep we seem to be trapped in.  While I believe that we got to this place fairly innocently (back to back illnesses, two new teeth), we seem to be stuck here with no improvement.  So what gives?

When I was pregnant with the baby, my toddler showed no interest in giving up his bed.  And, I wasn't willing to force him into leaving a crib before he was ready.  So we borrowed a crib from our friends.  My intention was to move the toddler into the borrowed crib, and keep our crib for the baby.  However, the toddler had other plans.  He is very particular about things, and he wanted nothing to do with the new crib.  So, since the baby would have no idea, we just moved our crib into the toddler's room (where his big boy bed was all set up and waiting for him!), and have been using the borrowed crib for the baby. 

The toddler's sleep habits are legendary.  Right from the get go, he was a great sleeper.  But he was also not a "typical" baby.  He never hit any milestones at the "right" time.  Ever.  He never teethed, he never really crawled, he never really did much of anything....except sleep.  And talk (which he still does).  We knew we had it easy with him. 

This time around, things are much more normal.  This baby seems to hit every milestone when he "should".  He is a terrible teether (clearly).  He's already crawling.  He is much, much more active.  For such an active baby, his sleep was actually pretty good.  Sure, I longed for a baby who slept through the night, but putting him to bed was easy and he would sleep long stretches and would only wake one to two times a night.  So all in all, he was pretty good. 

Until now.

So what's changed?  Nothing is really different now than it was 2 months ago...other than the fact that he is much more mobile and has two new teeth to show for all the pain.  But now that he can move, and the teeth have popped through, I figured we'd go back to normal.  What was normal for him anyway.  But we seem to be stuck.  Which made me contemplate the energy in his room and his bed. 

When we bought the furniture for our nursery, I was pregnant with our first child and we were obviously very excited.  We picked out the furniture and it was a big deal -- it was the first furniture we had purchased together as a couple.  We intended that crib to be used for all our children.  A lot of our hopes and dreams are associated with that furniture, and I love it today as much as I did the day we picked it out in the store.  We decorated the nursery with care and love, again intending it to be the room we put all our babies. 

The borrowed crib is not something we chose.  The house it came from is very different from our own, and the people who used it have a very different parenting style than we do.  The mother who offered us the crib is one of the kindest women I know.  She'd give you the shirt off her back if she thought it would help you, and I know it was that generosity of spirit that compelled her to offer us the bed where she'd had her own babies.  Please don't misunderstand me, I'm grateful that they were in a position to help us out -- it saved us buying another piece of furniture.  It just makes me wonder if this crib came to us with some of their "energy" attached to it? 

Yes, I realize this is a little "out there", and I'm probably grasping at straws trying to fix a situation that right now seems unfixable.  But last week, the toddler moved to his big boy bed on his own terms (hooray!) and wanted the crib taken out of his room.  He's graciously (ha ha) allowed us to give the crib back to the baby.  Maybe having the baby back in the bed that was intended for him all along will change the dynamic of his room.  Maybe it won't.

No matter what, it makes my heart happy to lay my baby's head in the bed I want all my babes to sleep in.  And maybe the toddler's sleep energy will rub off the mattress....

I can hope, right?