Toddler Times
Cherishing the Bedtime Moments
We’ve been pushing the bedtime later and later this summer. It’s just so hard to put the kids to bed when it’s still bright light outside. And we love spending the cooler summer evenings riding bikes, playing at the park, going for walks.
But when 9:00, or 9:30, or even 10:00 (I know, I know!), rolls around, our kids are beyond tired, but sometimes have a hard time settling down.
So, I rock my son to sleep, and I often fall asleep myself for a little while, and then I wake up and look down and try to take a mental picture of my little guy snuggled against me so peacefully.
Sometimes I feel bad because I feel this strange pressure to lay my son down to sleep by himself. Like he’ll never be able to sleep on his own if I rock him to sleep one more day.
My son is a great sleeper. He sleeps through the night pretty much every night, with a rare night waking here and there. He falls asleep quickly with me, I don’t have to spend tons of time getting him to settle down, or begging him to fall asleep. So why do I still feel like I’m doing something wrong?
Tonight I laid him down in bed while he was still awake, and a few minutes later he was crying so I went back to say goodnight to him again. When I hugged him, he clung to me and basically lifted himself out of the crib and into my arms. How can I say no to that?!
And why would I want to? My little boy is growing up too fast already. He’s not my baby anymore. But, I’ll cherish these moments, these memories of the quiet darkness where it’s just me and him, contently rocking, and all is right with the world.
Do you still rock your toddler to sleep?
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2 Comments
Tifanny commented on Jul 31 11 at 6:21 pmI really missed those bedtime moment with my kids.. I want to bring back the old times.. and once again, hug them tight!! ^_^
Karen commented on Aug 02 11 at 7:56 pmMy youngest of 9 is just turned 4. I often let him fall asleep in my arms. At the very least I get the littles ready for bed and many of us climb into my bed and play games of ‘Who am I?’ (animals), or an older sibling reads to us with a flashlight while the rest of us lay in the dark falling asleep one at a time.
My oldest is 24yo. I know these days pass, so I try to remind myself to enjoy them while I have them. All my children are able to fall asleep on their own, but why pass up these precious times with them if I don’t have to?
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