stephiejo_07
12-04-2008, 03:55 AM
My 2-year old daughter and I are going through our nightly ritual.
I am reading my 15th book to her (and I do not exaggerate) by the faint glow of her night-light when, suddenly, she snatches the book out of my hand and decides that SHE wants to read a story to ME instead. Okay, no problem. I seize this opportunity and pretend to fall asleep during the story. We are laying in her queen size bed since my husband and I uprgraded to a king size. She continues reading the story to me (mainly babbling) and it isn't too long before she realizes that I've fallen asleep. Although, I am still pretending. She's stopped reading and I hear her put her book in the pile of the books I've already read tonight next to her. I still pretend to be asleep. Most nights, at this point, she would be getting out of bed to go get more books. But then she amazes me. She doesn't get out of bed. At this point, I'm not sure what's going on and I desperately want to open my eyes but if I do, we will have to begin the book ritual all over. Instead of getting out of bed, she places her most beloved "Snuggly" (a worn-down teddy bear lovey that looks nothing like a bear whom she's taken EVERYWHERE with her for the past year and a half) in my open arm that I have resting on the pillow next to my head. It gets better. She kisses Snuggly and then leans over and kisses me on the cheek and says, "Mommy, night-night." Then lays down on her pillow, moments later, taking back her Snuggly---because she just can't sleep without him---and falls asleep herself.
It's moments like these that make my heart melt and cause me to forget about the nearly 2 1/2 hours (again, I do not exaggerate) I've just spent trying to convince her to go back to sleep.
"No, sweetie, it's not playtime right now," and telling her "No more stories, it's night-night time," (but always giving in and reading 'just one more').
It makes me forget about how exhausted I am from spending over an hour getting her 4 1/2 month old baby brother down for the night, only having to spend the next 2 with her.
It reminds me of why I became a mother in the first place.
And that small gesture is what makes this nightly-ritual all worth it.
I am reading my 15th book to her (and I do not exaggerate) by the faint glow of her night-light when, suddenly, she snatches the book out of my hand and decides that SHE wants to read a story to ME instead. Okay, no problem. I seize this opportunity and pretend to fall asleep during the story. We are laying in her queen size bed since my husband and I uprgraded to a king size. She continues reading the story to me (mainly babbling) and it isn't too long before she realizes that I've fallen asleep. Although, I am still pretending. She's stopped reading and I hear her put her book in the pile of the books I've already read tonight next to her. I still pretend to be asleep. Most nights, at this point, she would be getting out of bed to go get more books. But then she amazes me. She doesn't get out of bed. At this point, I'm not sure what's going on and I desperately want to open my eyes but if I do, we will have to begin the book ritual all over. Instead of getting out of bed, she places her most beloved "Snuggly" (a worn-down teddy bear lovey that looks nothing like a bear whom she's taken EVERYWHERE with her for the past year and a half) in my open arm that I have resting on the pillow next to my head. It gets better. She kisses Snuggly and then leans over and kisses me on the cheek and says, "Mommy, night-night." Then lays down on her pillow, moments later, taking back her Snuggly---because she just can't sleep without him---and falls asleep herself.
It's moments like these that make my heart melt and cause me to forget about the nearly 2 1/2 hours (again, I do not exaggerate) I've just spent trying to convince her to go back to sleep.
"No, sweetie, it's not playtime right now," and telling her "No more stories, it's night-night time," (but always giving in and reading 'just one more').
It makes me forget about how exhausted I am from spending over an hour getting her 4 1/2 month old baby brother down for the night, only having to spend the next 2 with her.
It reminds me of why I became a mother in the first place.
And that small gesture is what makes this nightly-ritual all worth it.