The other night, CJ started to show signs that it was nearly bedtime right around 8PM. We aim for 8, but there have been days that he just hasn't napped & he gets to bed earlier. There are days that he's wide awake at 8 and bedtime is closer to 9 or 10. This other night, he started showing the sleepy signs: rubbing his eyes, unexplained kicking (because he's learned that he can hold off sleep if he simply moves around). I took him upstairs.
I've explained before that mommy has turned into the book reader & I turned into the lullaby singer. I started singing through my favorites ("Golden Slumbers" & "Good Night" by the Beatles, "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon, "Goodnight My Angel" by Billy Joel, "Baby Mine" from Dumbo, "Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog), and then threw in a bunch of others ("Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty, "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray, "I'll Be There For You" by Bon Jovi", "Walk On the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket), and then started all over again. CJ was digging it . . . watching me, smiling, laughing . . . but after an hour of singing, he was nowhere closer to falling asleep than when we started. Toward the beginning of the second time through, my voice started to fail me, and Mr. Coltrane really didn't like the reduced volume, so I picked him up & continued on through. Finally, I put him back down & he started to seriously cry.
At this point, Mommy came upstairs, picked the kid up, & minutes later, he was asleep. The lesson, as always, is Mommy wins at bedtime.
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