Bad Mommy Mondays

Here goes.  I've gotten a couple of doozies recently.

1. I have left Miles with a babysitter for three out of the past four days.  The first two were relatively necessary, so I could get some work done.  The third was purely selfish.  I left him with Stacey in the morning while Patrick and I went looking at garage sales, and then left Miles with Patrick that night, so the girls and I could go out.  I didn't even feel all that guilty.*
2. At work, I sometimes put up a baby-gate enclosure to keep Miles contained.  Apparently, he looks like 'a caged animal' (which, I gather, is a bad thing).  Meh.  It allows him maximum freedom, while allowing my co-workers maximum sanity. I'd say that's win-win.
3. I don't always cage him.  Often, he is allowed to run the halls of the office, checking in with everyone to say hello and hang out for awhile.  Now, if I could just count on him to not crawl/climb/open/slam/otherwise maim ever piece of everything in the office. . .
4. At twenty months old, he still has a pacifier for naps and bedtime.  And when he's having a really bad day.  Or is teething.  And, he can ask for it, with a sign he invented (basically, he sticks his pointer finger in his mouth).  I've been told that once he can ask for it, he's too old to still have it.  I don't care.  I finally have the child to a point that he sleeps without (too much) complaint.  And if that means we hold on to the pacifier a little longer, so be it.
5. We have already converted Miles' crib into a toddler bed so he can get in and out on his own.  I was warned that it's a bad idea for children under three to be in a toddler bed.  I disagree.  The transition to the toddler bed has led to a far easier bedtime routine, less fuss when he wakes up, and an overall longer amount of sleep, both overnight and during naps.  Plus, it prevents him climbing the furniture to get in and out of it, which, I'm told, is highly dangerous.  Apparently, I should have put a crib tent on, instead.  Because, you know, we should cage our children. . .but only at bedtime, I guess. :)

*Once I got past the guilt of having him peeled off of me and screaming as I drove away. . . <sigh>