Bedtime

Last night Matthew was starting to act fussy and otherwise tired around 5:30. I was hoping he would make it until Jason got home from work, but then at 5:33 he let out a huge yawn, so I decided it was time for bed. He will have to see Jason another day.

We went up to Matthew's room and I put PJs and a new diaper. I then started the bedtime routine by reading a story. Matthew wasn't much into the story, but that's not too out of the ordinary. We then said a bedtime prayer and I shut off the light. The next part of the routine is rocking and singing Jesus Loves Me a few times. I was cradling Matthew when I started singing and rocking, and he started kicking, arching his back, whimpering and basically thrashing about as best a 7 month old baby can thrash about. I wondered if my instincts and read of his tiredness were off and I was putting him to bed too early. Partway through the second Jesus Loves Me, though, he went completely still and was out. He sure puts up a fight, but when he's really tired he is quickly and surely overcome. I placed him in his crib and went downstairs.

Jason returned home shortly and then we had a big dinner of leftovers accumulated through the week and some ooey gooey cake. Sam ate some cucumber, a little pasta and lots of applesauce and ooey gooey cake. We then played a little bit, but I could tell Sam was tired too as he was being more obstinate than usual and had gotten up early and didn't take a good nap. Sam started his usual routine of trying to stand on the couch and ottoman. This is a constant battle for us. Every evening he tries to do this and we still haven't figured out a good way to deal with it.

So last night I told Sam that if he stood on the couch he was immediately going to bed. He slyly looked at me and got on his knees on the couch. He started lifting up his leg to put his foot on the couch and smiled at me. Then he stood. "Ok, bedtime," I said. It was around 6:30. I picked him up and there was much screaming and thrashing about, and believe me, a 2 year old can thrash about a lot more effectively than a 7 month old.

By the time we were mid-way up the stairs, though, the thrashing and screaming had ended. We had an uneventful bedtime routine and Sam went to bed around 6:45. I guess he really was tired.