Glad I Checked

I'm pretty much a proponent of the Ferber Method when it comes to bedtime. I make sure the boys were safe and OK, then I just let them fall asleep on their own, even if there is a lot of crying involved. I used to go in and give the boys their pacifiers if they lost them during the night, but I don't do that anymore because I'm trying to encourage them to be more independent, and hopefully not need the pacifiers at all anymore. Drew is usually fine with this, but there are nights when Owen will cry (as in, scream and wail) for an hour, sleep a little, wake up, cry some more, sleep some more...all night long. And in between wailings he'll yell, "Pa'fier!"

Tonight after I put the boys to bed, I was doing some laundry and I heard Drew crying, which is rare for him (I mean, it's rare for him to cry much at bedtime. He cries plenty during the day when he doesn't get his way). At first I thought, Oh, he just wants his pacifier. Well, he can do without it. Then I decided that it was still early enough in the evening and I'd give him one more chance to fall asleep with the pacifier. I went into the boys' room and when Drew heard the door open he said, "Tucks" (which means "stuck;" the boys have this cute way of taking the 's' off the beginning of words and putting it onto the end). As I got closer to his crib, I noticed his little leg was caught between the bars in a crazy position. I carefully maneuvered it out. Drew said, "Teak-oo" (which of course means "thank you") and then he said, "Night" and snuggled up with his blanket. It was very cute.

As I was leaving the boys' room, Owen, who had been standing in his crib, put one of his legs between the slats, wiggled it around and said, "Tucks." So I pretended to get it un-stuck for him. He was appreciative. It cracks me up how Drew and Owen are so different, but they both want equal treatment, even at their young age.

Our bedtime routine goes something like this: I say prayers with Drew, then I give him his pacifier and a sippy cup with water. Then I do the same for Owen. When I'm done, Drew says, "Prayers!" So I go over and let him say his own little prayer (when the boys say their own prayers, it involves them sitting with their little arms folded, squinting their eyes, peeking up at me, giggling, then yelling, "May-men!"). By this point, Owen has thrown his pacifier and/or sippy out of the crib. I pick it up for him. I go to leave, but Drew has thrown his pacifier and/or cup out. I get it for him, go to leave, Owen wants to say prayers again... I find it cute and fun, but I'm getting better at resisting the boys' charm. Otherwise, I feel like the bedtime routine could drag on for hours.

But at last, the boys are snug in bed, and I'm on my way. It frustrates me how tired I'll be all day, but I have too much to do to sleep, and when I finally get a chance to go to bed, suddenly I'm wide awake. I guess I'd better at least try to sleep though, 'cause we're going wakeboarding tomorrow (weather permitting)! Yay!