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When will I ever learn to simply wake this child up from his nap at the 1 - 1 1/2 hour mark?? Here I sit *again* at 10 til 11pm rocking hopefully, and the little eyes remain open and the little head continues to shift restlessly.....
Please don't tell me that a 26 month old should surely be trained to lay in his bed and go to sleep on his own by now, I know that. And all of my others went to sleep on their own at this age. It's one of the reasons I feel certain I should not be the mother of a large family. By the 10th one I would probably be diapering the 6 year old and rocking the last three to sleep every night! Then again, none of my others didn't sleep through the night til after they were 2 years old either, so maybe it's just the difference in children and someday this child will be a well adjusted, emotionally stable young man because his mother sacrificed so many late nights on the rocking chair. (One can make up whatever one wishes, I suppose. He might also be driving his wife crazy with his Night Owl tendencies; let's think of all the options while we're at it.)
Be that as it may, I suppose I shall just embrace the teaching of the elder women who love to tell the younger how much they will miss those days and how soon they will be past - "before you know it" - as they say. Come to think of it, I can't seem to recall ever hearing a grandmother lament, "If only I hadn't rocked my children so much!!"
Now that I've soothed my conscience sufficiently, and the child's eyes have actually drooped closed and the little body is laying heavily in my arms, I will bring this moral-less ramble to a close and join the rest of my slumbering family.
Ps. And, tomorrow I will endeavor to remember that, though the 3 hour nap is so nice in the moment, IT WILL NOT BE WORTH IT AT 11:00 pm!!! (Nor at 2:45 am when he is wide awake. Again.) Amen.
I loved this post. Many of us have been there, and indeed, I am now the grandmother who doesn't regret rocking her babies to sleep...ever. I would love to have the opportunity to do it just one more time. Although I know that none of this is of help to you at 11 o'clock at night. I hope you have a wonderful day and a sleep filled night tonight.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
1# Heeheehee! :) :)
ReplyDelete2# Being a mom of a big family doesn't automatically make her capable...(for crying out loud!!!) We have "embarrassing" issues going on here and I just don't know what to do exactly!!! Sigh. (good try anyways ;-))
3# So, yes, amen.
Aww love this post! My youngest will be 7 in a few weeks and I can tell you I miss those crazy long nights rocking babies! Soak it up while you can. It really goes too fast! Blessings to you!
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