shhhh, it's sleepy time

I'm in Riverside and it's not to my surprise that I had a difficult time falling asleep last night. I usually can't fall asleep in unfamiliar places right away. So as I was dosing off, I began thinking about a conversation that I had had earlier that evening with my very good friend (and new mommy), Emalee. We were speaking about her sweet baby (he was 10lbs. at birth) and how often he sleeps. I began to tell her that one of my most rewarding activities is putting my little ones (the children I babysit) to bed.

It goes something like this...

There's been chaos or near chaos all evening, but once the kids finish dinner and have baths they're good to go. I lather them with sweet smelling cremes, give them fresh diapers, and select the cutest "jammies" in the drawer (I like to pick the ones with feet). Once they are in "jammies" I hug them and tell them they are so cute! By now I have a warm bottle ready --mind you these are my kids age 2 and under--so I grab the "baba," "bobbie," "bubby," whatever and a cozy blankie. I usually dim the bedroom light (one of the children likes a lullaby cd), swaddle the baby, settle into a large chair, give the baby his/her bottle and rock back & forth, back & forth, back & forth.

I'm sure none of this sounds like riveting information on child-rearing, but I get such joy out of these moments. It's quiet time and the babies always look so peaceful. It usually takes the little ones about 10-20 minutes to knock out, and once they do, it's to their crib they go. I'm not typically a sentimental girl (emotional, but not sentimental), but it's this moment that makes me realize why people fall in love with their babies. They're great when they're awake yes, but they're so trusting & peaceful at sleepy time.