During the first three months of Ashtyn's life, I literally thought I was going to die of sleep deprivation. And she wasn't a bad sleeper, as far as babies went. She was just a baby and I do not do well without eight straight hours of sleep every night. Go without that for three months and I'm miserable.
Because of that, I spent a lot of those first three months of her life reading and studying about how to get babies to sleep. I read blogs, books, and as many websites as I could find and I learned a lot of helpful things. I also began to see a pattern, something that everyone seemed to repeat, whether they used the cry it out method or were all for you rocking your baby to sleep every night.
If you want your baby to sleep well, there are two main things you need to do: get them on a pretty consistent schedule (what this means for you and your family, you get to decide) and part of that schedule needs to involve a bedtime (and nap time) routine.
I really wanted sleep, so I stuck to this religiously. I really wanted Ashtyn to sleep, both for her sake and mine.
Little did I know how dear to my heart this time would become.
Our routine has grown and changed a little as she's gotten over. I quickly abandoned the bath at bedtime, because I was too tired by the time bedtime came around and it didn't seem to calm her down anyways. I would just swaddle her, read a couple books to her, and sing a song before putting her down in her crib.
Now, we still read together. Then we say a prayer, sing whatever nursery rhymes Ashtyn wants, and then snuggle while I sing a hymn or primary song to her.
It's honestly one of the best things we do together. I love looking at the books and seeing how smart Ashtyn is. We giggle, count, and discover together as we look at the pages and Ashtyn always wants more when we're done. I secretly do too.
Then Ashtyn turns around so she's sitting on my lap facing me and I help her say a prayer. Then she almost always wants to say one by herself. She usually has a lot to say, let me tell you. It's always so funny to hear her "prayers".
Then we sing nursery rhymes. This is probably Ashtyn's favorite parts. She loves choosing the song almost as much as actually singing it. From "itby itby ibty" (the itsy bitsy spider) to "tall tall tall" (Once there was a snowman) to "poppy poppy window" (Popcorn popping), she gets so excited. She is so smart, she knows most of the lyrics and it's so cute to hear. When we finish, I'll say "One more time" and hold my finger up, so now she'll do that too and it's basically so cute that it's impossible to resist doing it one more time, even if we've already done it five.
Then it's time to snuggle. She used to lay her head on my shoulder, but usually now she wraps her little arms around my big belly and lays her head on my chest. She knows a lot of the lyrics to a lot of the songs I sing her and tries to sing along with me. This is my favorite part. I love holding my sweet baby close and sometimes the Spirit is so strong in the room, my heart just swells with gratitude. I have never felt a stronger or sweeter assurance of God's love or of the divinity of my role as a mother than during those precious moments, holding my daughter and sharing my testimony through music with her.
I am so blessed.
I love this. Beautiful!
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