The baby loves to sleep. I’m not kidding; I took him to the pediatrician because he sleeps so much. He sleeps around 13-14 hours most nights. He also takes at least one 3ish hour nap, & sometimes a second short nap depending on the day. I’ve never had a baby sleep like this, especially not at 12 months old!
He also goes to bed easily. He only gets a bottle of milk before bed, so when he starts getting sleepy, I get his bottle ready. Then we go upstairs to his room to snuggle in the rocking chair while he has his milk.
It’s a nice 10-15 minutes of quiet, snuggle time with him. I get to take a break from cleaning the house, helping the kids with school, & running around. Once his milk is gone, he snuggles in with his pacifier & shuts his little eyes. I snuggle him a few minutes more, then I put him in his crib with his blankie & walk out.
But NOT TODAY.
Today, he sat & cried at my feet while I got his milk ready. When we went upstairs & I was so excited to snuggle him since he had cried so much. But as we sat down in the rocking chair, he screamed & refused the bottle. He arched his back & head butted & thrashed around. It was clear, he did not want to sleep. I quickly gave up trying to give him his bottle; he was just not having it. He didn’t want his pacifier either. He didn’t want to be hugged. He didn’t want to be rocked. He did not want his blankie to snuggle. He did NOT want to sleep.
If I’m really honest… I was a little frustrated. Even though it’s relatively normal for kids to fight sleep at this age, I just wanted to snuggle him. Plus, I have a killer headache today because I’m trying to cut back on caffeine. It was obvious that he was tired, he just didn’t want to give in. I considered just putting him in his crib & letting him give up on his own. But instead, I just hugged him & rocked him while he fought sleep. I made sure he didn’t butt me in the face while he arched his back, kicked his legs, threw himself around, & screeched. Eventually, of course, he gave in & closed his little eyes & snuggled down. I rocked him a few minutes more, then put him to bed, where he is still sleeping soundly.
Our big kids do this to us too, don’t they? One day, for no apparent reason, they suddenly don’t behave the way they always have. Or they suddenly hate their favorite food. Or they are just plain horrible for no obvious reason. How do we respond to this?
If you’re like me, usually, it’s with at least mild irritation of frustration. As our kids get bigger, we expect them to be able to express their opinions in more logical ways, but I think sometimes, they still need to be hugged. Sometimes, they just need to be reassured that our love is not conditional on their behavior. Sometimes, they need to know that the rules are consistent. & other times, they’re tired or don’t feel well or have had a bad day, but are not able to express it. The truth is, as big as they seem, they’re still little & need us to be the adult.
So today, I want to encourage you to hug your babies, big or little. Hug your spouse too, Lord knows they could probably use it! Give them a little extra patience, even when you have none left to give. It may not feel like it, but I promise it will do your heart as much good as theirs!
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