My Favorite Time of the Night

There was a time not too long ago that I was so sleep deprived from Mara's shenanigans that I couldn't see straight.  But since she has learned how to sleep (Thank you, Lord!) in her crib over the past month or so, I have a new favorite time of the day with the kids. 

You can pretty much set your clock by the way our night time routine unfolds.  Around 7:30, Mara starts to get grouchy.  Hopefully by this time the kitchen is cleaned up after supper and everyone has their bellies full.  So we head upstairs for tubs.  I firmly believe that this is Mara's favorite part of every day because she splashes and giggles and has an absolute blast in the tub...until it is time to actually wash her, at which point she protests my interruption of her playtime.  Lauren loves to get a tub with Mara, and enjoys singing songs to her and playing with toys with her while we wash away the day's messes.  Once the girls are clean, Joshua jumps into the shower on his own and takes care of business like a champ.  On a rare occasion, Joshua will decide that he would rather jump in the tub with the girls.  And then we have a very full tub with a lot of giggling!

After we get everyone dressed and Lauren's curls untangled, we head downstairs.  Although I know the kids really should go upstairs, lay down in their beds and go to sleep, they all still prefer to be with us to fall asleep.  And, for whatever it's worth, it's just not a battle that I feel the need to fight right now.  Frankly, our evenings together are so short that it's totally fine with me if they want to curl up and read a book with me on the couch, or cuddle up next to me while I feed Mara.  I know that these days will soon be over, and they'll be in their rooms more than I hope.  And it will be then that I would wish that I would have let them fall asleep on the couch beside me a little longer.  And so....this is the scene that quickly unfolds.

Joshua has inherited the ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime from me.  He tells us all goodnight and that he loves us, we reciprocate, and he snuggles with Bear.  And within the next 15 seconds, you hear him snoring away.  The challenging part lately has been carrying him up to his bed.  He is growing by leaps and bounds right now, and he is almost getting too big to carry.

Lauren's requirement is that I rub her leg while she falls asleep.  She cuddles up next to me on her Dora pillow and doesn't take long to drift off either.  She's definitely a snuggler, and lately is wanting to be curled up next to me more times than not to read a book or watch a favorite show.  Lauren is funny, though, because there are some nights where the noise from the TV or the commotion of Mara scrooching around gets on her nerves and she'll tell me that she just wants to go to bed to fall asleep.  She is Miss Independent, and I can see her turning into such a big girl almost before my eyes.

And then there is Mara.  She prefers to fall asleep in the dark and quiet of her bedroom.  We still rock and nurse until she falls asleep, all while listening to our Fernando Ortega station on Pandora.  She likes to hold onto my hands and very peacefully drifts off to sleep.  I have been working on praying a blessing over each of the kids at night time as they are drifting off to sleep, and Mara's is always the easiest one to do.  I find it so special to rock with her and pray for her as she is falling asleep.  "Lord, bless Mara and keep her.  Make your face to shine upon her and be gracious to her.  Look upon her with Your favor and grant her peace."  And then other prayers for her follow.

On a good night, I can lay her down in her crib and she doesn't wake up.  Some nights are a little trickier than others in that respect, and last night was one of them, so I wasn't able to snap a picture without taking the chance that she was going to wake up.  So I settled for one this morning of a happy girl, waking up from a whole night in her crib.  She is sleeping from about 9-7 most nights, with zero wakings in between.  Given the fact that we were rocking and nursing literally all night long for months prior to letting her cry it out, I am amazed with her progress.  I still love opening her door in the moring and seeing this sweet smiling face.

After Mara is down for the night, we get the other kids to their beds.  Many times Jason has already done that.  And I sneak into their bedrooms to pray a blessing over each of them and sneak a last night time snuggle with them.  No matter what has happened during the day, there is nothing like knowing you have everyone tucked safely in for the night.  Given the fact that I have actually been getting some sleep at night time, I have a little energy left over to spend some time watching some TV with Jason or finishing up some little jobs that need to be done. 

I finally feel like we might have settled into a manageable night time routine.  Which is good considering the fact that we've been juggling that issue around for the past 14 months.  And even if the routine gets flip flopped around again a few more times, I know this-- there is nothing more important to Jason and I than those three sweet little people who have blessed our lives more than we could ever deserve.