Sleepy Time

Little C is so active these days. I can hardly keep up with him. I constantly marvel at how quickly he blasted through the snugly phase...you know that phase when they will fall asleep on your shoulder, on your chest, pretty much anywhere and as a result you get lots of nice snuggle time. I would say since he was about 3 months old, except in dire circumstances of utter exhaustion (as pictured here at Christmas), our munchkin has refused to fall asleep anywhere but in his crib or (on the occasional road trip) in his carseat . Anytime he's being held, he's just wriggling around trying to get a better view or find an escape route. It's kinda sad too because when I pictured motherhood I pictured lots of snuggle time and to think that phase is already behind us is hard to swallow. I keep hoping it's just a phase. And I'm sure each kid is different. Who knows, maybe if we have another one he/she will be a bit more apt to sit in my lap or be content just being held.

Anyway, there is still ONE time of day when the little man will sleep in my arms. He eats dinner at 7, and is in bed by 8, but he still wakes up for one last feeding around 10:30pm or so. Most days I'm so wiped out by then I'm struggling to keep my eyes open, and I'll admit, it would be great if I knew we were 'done' for the day once he was in bed at 8pm. None the less, I don't hate or resent that last feeding. In fact, I look forward to it because it's the one time each day when he's so sleepy that after he's done eating he'll sleep in your arms. Every night I'll hold him while he sleeps for at least a half hour before I put him back in his crib...it's probably my favorite time of day. He's so cute in his footie pj's with his hair all whispy and sticking up everywhere.

As I sit there and study his face every night I'm always blown away by how big he's gotten, how much he's grown and changed. Some nights I feel like I'm holding a little boy more than my little baby. And because I know he won't be my baby forever I really try to cherish that time. No matter how messy the house is, no matter how much more I have to do before I can call it a day, I know I need to savor that quiet sleepy time because in no time at all, I know it'll be gone.