Bedtime

Recently, we made a little change in our bedtime routine.  Kenton was nursing to sleep while I rocked him in the rocking chair (I loved these moments to relax with him at night).  However, he stopped falling asleep while nursing, and it would turn into a bit of a battle to get him to fall asleep.  Ray and I decided to tweak bedtime and it has made a beautiful difference.  We started laying down together as a family.  We get ready for bed, lay down and say our prayers before turning out the lights.  Kenton nurses a little then we all close our eyes and Kenton usually falls asleep within about 30 minutes.  He may move around a bit and play with the prized toy that had to come to bed with us, but he stays very calm and knows that it’s time to relax.  Bedtime is a wonderful time of family togetherness and most nights a no-stress time.  (When mommy’s over-tired, sometimes she gets a little impatient with Kenton, but most of the time it’s a very relaxing time before Ray and I have a little adult time before going to sleep ourselves.)

Related to bedtime is a very cute story.  Shortly after we made this nighttime change, I started praying one night.  Our prayers are never very long, but this night I hadn’t said more than 2 or 3 words when Kenton said “Ah-meen.”  Ray and both had to hold back the laughs as Kenton looked at me smiled and laid down on the pillow ready for the next step towards bedtime.  Since that night, he attempts most nights to end the prayers early; however, he always joins with mommy and daddy to say Amen at the end each night.