Saturday, October 15, 2011

Bedtime for Babies


I guess I am not the most feminine of women, because I do not enjoy putting my children to bed.  With my oldest child, circumstances forced me to rock him to sleep every single freaking night as a baby.  I hated it!  Let it be said that my oldest child did not cuddle, and did not coo.  He would scream bloody murder for an hour and a half before finally just tiring himself out.  No matter what time of night you tried to put him down, you were in for the scream fest.  Some mommies will probably want to crucify me for this, but I did not like my baby during this time every day.  I dreaded it, and I resented it.  I came to understand why people shake babies.  I don’t condone it at all (I sucked it up and dealt with the little turd lovingly, everyone else can too.)  I really just wanted him to conk out and let me have a few minutes of peace.  Peace was defined as time to do my homework, or plan for my 5 different classes.  And the irony is that he really threw tantrums when I finally stopped rocking him.  In short, the kid fought sleep like it was a pack of ninja bunnies out to eat his face.

My circumstances are vastly different with our second baby, and I do not ever rock him to sleep.  He goes to sleep faster in his bed, and sleeps more soundly.  While M. is a totally different kettle of kid from G. (can we say mellow?)  I also think his awesome sleep habits have to do with our unswerving devotion to not rocking.  The only time he gets rocked to sleep is at his grandparents, if we don’t catch them first.  And then we have a week of hell when we get home because we have to go on holding detox.  All in all, it’s okay.  Will our next baby get rocked to sleep?  Probably not.

3 comments:

Jessica

We don't rock. I'm too lazy. Heck, I may or may not have let all three of the boys sleep for an entire night in a swing if they wanted. Not all the time but...let's say when a friend let us borrow a swing that PLUGGED IN TO THE WALL I *may* have done a happy dance. In the road, by her car.
Though, I guess swings are rocking, but it is not me doing it. And it wasn't an every night thing. But, it is a lazy thing :D

Jessica

also, i like that you labeled that post w/ "Ninja Bunnies." i look forward to more post on them in the future.

Katie E.

Ninja bunnies are a hazard only the very young can see.

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