Not in any parenting book
Ethan insisted on having 4 pieces of bacon before going to bed.
I went to get him his customary glass of water before bed, and he pointed vehemently to the bacon box (precooked, just microwave and eat... it's a wonderful time to live when you can have decent bacon in under a minute).
Realizing that an part of parenting is choosing your battles (and also realizing that the kid is still a lightweight), we gave him two pieces of bacon. We went into his room, put on his PJs, read our usual nighttime story, and all settled in our usual spots on the floor: Ethan and I sharing a pillow, Tracey has rolled up blanket as a make-do pillow, and we say goodnight before turning off the light. We then wait for Ethan to fall asleep, at which point Tracey puts him in the crib and he sleeps soundly through the entire night.
It works well for us, so we do it every night.
Except tonight. After the light went off, Ethan started to fuss. One of the advantages to being a generally easy-going kid is that when you do fuss, your parents pay a lot more attention. "Do your teeth hurt?" No, he said. He's clearly tired, perhaps just overtired. It's his usual time for bed but he had no nap today. Finally he asked for more "B" which here meant "bacon".
I thought he was stalling... but I made him more bacon anyway.
He ate every last bit, crawled down on the pillow, and fell asleep.
Some things just ain't covered in the parenting books.
Comments
It's really a wonderful feeling when you are able to end a day on an upbeat note -- and know that at least for that day you have been the best parent you could possibly be. Sounds like it surely was one of those rare events. Congratulations to you both for being all of that--good parents!
Love you,
M
Posted by: Mary Daniels | August 13, 2004 11:06 AM