Nighttime Parenting

To make this post pretty, I'll share a few photos from supper, since having a camera during bedtime would really disrupt the mood. I toasted some corn tortillas from the Latin grocery and we had some [fairly] authentic, cheap, and delicious "tacos" for supper. Of course the filling was my Hidden Veggie Taco Meat. These photos are otherwise unrelated to the rest of the post. :)

 

I am in the process of writing several more interesting posts, but I am so bleary-eyed this evening that I almost sang myself to sleep while I was putting the boys to bed. I do so enjoy my little evening routine with them, after supper baths, clean pajamas, stories, prayers, and then a few lullabyes and other songs. A peaceful nighttime routine, with no strife and no tears is what I aim for. And because they know what to expect and what is expected, most evenings it takes me 20-30 minutes (after the bath) to sneak from their room with both of them slumbering peacefully. 

I'm sure that sounds like a long time to many of my readers, especially if you don't have any kids. But I think it is really important to, in the words of Dr. Sears, "parent" my kids to sleep instead of "put" them to sleep. If you are interested in learning about nighttime parenting, you can read about 8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know, from askdrsears.com.

A small sacrifice of time on my part creates a completely different atmosphere in the home; a peaceful, loving feeling that is really important to me. This post is shared with the Living Well Blog Hop.

Would you really want this sweet baby cry himself to sleep?