Nighty-Night

Every night, Shane and I have our little routine.

I start to turn off the lights downstairs. If the TV is on, the volume is turned down low. Shane then does one of two things. He will A) walk over to me and asks for his 'baba' or B) run around in a burst of energy to  try and convince me he's not tired.

Either way, it's bed time.

I pick Shane up and his head plops onto my shoulder. We say our goodbyes to Mommy and head up the stairs. After a quick stop in Shane's room to turn on his night light, we plop down in a the hallway chair to drink our goodnight bottle.

The goal is to slow down.

I breathe deep. I tussle Shane's hair gently. Normally, we sit quietly for a minute or two.

Then I sing.

Every night, I sing the same tune. It's the same tune I remember my mom singing as a child when she would march up the stairs to enforce bedtime.

Nighty-night, Nighty-night, 
It's your bedtime, Shane.
You're my boy, Mama's joy,
You're our boy and we love you.

Go to bed, Go to bed,
Go to bed son of mine.
Drink your milk, close your eyes,
and dream of the sun-rise.

I love you. Mom loves you.
We love you, Shane.
Rest your head, Drift to sleep
and Nighty-night, night, night.

And nighty-night, night, niiiiight.

I've sung this tune since Shane was a little baby. The words change off and on, but I've basically settled on three verses.

The routine varies more from this point on. Sometimes Shane is already starting to doze and it's a quick put down in his bed. Other times, it takes a while. Sometimes we sit quietly until he finishes. Sometimes I say a psalm or a quick prayer.

Whenever Shane does finish, I put the bottle down and he turns to lay on my chest. I slowly rub his back and hold him for a while. I always want him to feel loved. I don't want to lay him down too quickly. Admittedly, I don't want him to fall fully asleep on me either. The goal is for him to learn to put himself to sleep, so I just get him really comfortable, feeling loved, and then I deposit him in his bed.

I kiss my son goodnight, I tell him I love him and that I'll see him in the morning.

If he's awake, he'll protest when I shut the door. Other times, he falls asleep so quickly I don't hear a peep.

And that's our bed time routine.