Clare is a girl that likes her routine. She will be happy, playing and laughing but the moment you put her in the bath she knows what’s coming, don’t get me wrong, bath time is still play time, but she knows it’s the end of her day.
Our evening routine starts with Jeff and Clare reviewing all the pictures on the fridge or going upstairs to practice standing in the crib while I start the bath. Once the bath is ready Jeff will get her undressed, leaving her pants on the side of the crib, and then brings her into the bathroom. Clare is always excited about her bath, laughing and kicking her legs; only a few times has she been so excited she pees on Jeff.
Clare loves to stand up in her crib and play.
Whoa! Good thing the bumpers are still on, provided a soft landing.
Chewing on the crib and trying to pull up to standing after falling down.
Having a 'hair-poo'. This picture was taken before she fell backwards, no matter how many times I tell her that we need to sit on our bottom she still tries to stand up.
After her bath it’s time for lotion and PJ’s. Typically the moment I wrap her in her pink polka-dot towel she starts rubbing her eyes, this continues thru our lotion and PJ routine. I’ll lotion her up like a greased watermelon and then put her in bed where her PJ’s are ready and waiting; we’ll get both arms in and then she rolls over looking for Bunny and puts her over her face while I snap the rest of the snaps. Once she’s warm and snuggly in her fleece PJ’s we brush her hair and go downstairs to say our goodnights. Jeff is generally cooking dinner by this point, kindly he’ll stop and wash his hands before saying goodnight.
Once Clare has said goodnight to Jeff and Kai we move back upstairs to her room. She and I sit and rock for a while, occasionally reading a book but more often just sitting in the quiet while she has her bedtime snack. It doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep, sometimes only a few short minutes, other times I too fall asleep and before I know it we’ve been sitting there for 30 minutes. Some nights it seems I’ve been able to perfect the art of getting her into her bed without waking her up, other nights she’ll open her eyes and look at me, as though she’s saying goodnight one last time. When she’s finally in her bed she curls up on her left side, feet up on the side of the crib and Bunny up to her face.
This routine is my favorite time of the day. Having Clare snuggle into my arms and drifting off to dream land is positively my most favorite thing. I’ve noticed how much she’s grown by how long she is compared to the pillow she lays on, her feet now hang off the end, I suppose it won’t be long before she’s too big to lay on the pillow on my lap. I could watch Clare sleep all night; she looks so peaceful and happy. I wonder what she’s dreaming about, who is in her dreams, and what is she doing; I hope she only has happy dreams.
I’m sure our evening routine will change and evolve as she grows, but I hope we always have this time together. I love helping her go to sleep.
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