Bed time

Bed time is always interesting with children. I'm almost 25 and in my 25 years of experience going to bed every night (erg well except for those few all nighters at Corban) I still struggle sometimes to fall asleep.
So it's no wonder that falling asleep isn't always simple for my sweet Uriah. We do bedtime between 8:30 and 9:30 each day. Every night we take everything we have done that day to bed with us and falling asleep is the process of letting it all go.
Sometimes the tiredness weighs heavy on Uriah's eyes, but his little body can't quit tossing. He'll try nursing to sleep and his feet are kicking and his arm is waving a taxi. The day clearly took a lot of energy that he needs to let go of. Sometimes as he nurses the sweet, warm milk will be what he needs to slow his body down. As he lays close to my body I practice deep, slow breathing to calm my own body down. I find that most of the time, if I'm a mess, he's a mess, and so this deep breathing really helps me to relax my own body. My body relaxes with each new breath, and I imagine the oxygen seeping down all the way to my toes. I imagine that it extends all the way to my sweet boy. Just like it did when he was in my belly, and I really did supply him with oxygen.
At the end of the day, with all of the day on my mind, sometimes I feel like I'm going to just tip over the edge of crazy. As if so much relies on my boy going to sleep. And if he fights sleeping then surely I'll go crazy. Helping a little person fall asleep is actually a really big job. It's important for babies to sleep, and they need us to show them. A lot of stuff rides on bed time.
So on those occasional nights when my milk doesn't send my Uriah off to dream land, I try not lose my sanity. He only has 7 months of life experience far. And falling asleep is a skilled craft.
He will nurse and nurse and just when I think he is fast asleep, he will barrel roll, pop his head up and stare at me. Upon making eye contact he flashes the biggest grin, "Yes," that cheesy grin says, "I get a few more minutes of hanging out with mom and dad."
And we just hang out. Zach and I are the crib bumpers so he can roll around and get all the extra energy out that he needs to. We smile and laugh till his body slows down and he is actually ready for sleeps.
Very rarely now, but every once in awhile I will have to wrap him up and walk him to sleep while wearing him. I can't imagine how good that must feel. To be gently swayed to sleep, with your head nuzzled in your loved ones chest. Close, secure and warm. I'm sure it's heaven for him. Even though I count down the minutes I'll miss of sleep for myself, I know I'm doing the important job of teaching my boy how to sleep. And if you just have to be awake, Uriah Blaine, then you will be awake with the best company ever.