“Daddy, can I help you make the muffins?”
The Piano Man is the baker of the house. He has quite a few apprentices. I am not one of them though I do make bread. His most faithful helper is 3 year old Squiggle Bug.
“Yes, you can help.”
“Ok. I will take a lick and you will make the muffins.”
The start of our morning after Night 6. (If you haven’t been following our journey through night weaning using Dr. Gordon’s method it starts here and you can read night 1, night 2, night 3, night 4, and night 5.)
It’s kind of like that in other areas too. Figuring out the parent-child relationship. Somethings are obvious such as changing diapers, feeding, and keeping them safe. Some are less so like making muffins, playing dress up together and how you’ll be interacting at the park. The dynamic is constantly changing too, one day they become aware of muffin making, the next they want to help by licking the spoon and the next they’re kicking you out of the kitchen and making the muffins themselves.
Official analysis of Night 6? I can really see how it’s working. Much closer to a full night’s sleep today than we were a week ago for sure. We’re really doing this. We might also need a new mattress. I could have had 9 full uninterrupted hours of sleep last night and the only reason I didn’t was because of me.
Timeline-ish
8 or 8.30ish- Smunchie to bed. A shorter going to bed routine than we normally have, she was super ready for bed.
midnightish- The Piano Man and I go to bed. Late again! I haven’t grown out of my teen late night habits still. Having been in the performing arts for so long old habits die hard.
4ish- In pain, I was tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. For the last 3 nights my back has been bothering me. I can’t think of anything I did (other than a few injuries years ago including a bad car accident and a bad stage fighting accident) but I suspect it’s a combination of odd sleeping positions when I fall asleep comforting Smunchie and just that I’m actually sleeping longer stretches and our mattress is old. We probably need a new mattress. As I sat up in bed trying to stretch my back and rub out the knots I couldn’t believe that I was awake all by myself. Smunchie was still in her bed at the end of our bed snoozing yet I was up missing out on sleep.
5ish- Squiggle Bug came in looking for daddy. I’m not her go-to-person most of the time, something that is bittersweet for me. I love how deeply connected she is with The Piano Man but I’m also kind of jealous. She didn’t want me so she and The Piano Man left to go to her bed. I was rejected to the bed to be alone. Kind of unusual.
5.30ish- Smunchie wakes. I get her and she holds on tight. We lay down and The Piano Man joined us again. This time she ends up going to him when I answer her request for to nurse with our standard “bobbies all done.” In just a few minutes she is calmed by him patting her back and soothing her with “mm-hmm” again. She takes over his side of the bed and he goes back to Squiggle Bug’s bed to sleep.
6ish- Smunchie wakes again and I’m very tempted to nurse since we’re so close to 7. The Piano Man comes to help again and somehow I end up on the other side of the bed. Together we patted and rubbed her back, spoke softly to her and helped her settle. We all 3 end up in bed together.
7.30ish- I wake up to Smunchie sitting next to me playing with stuff she found on the bedside table, talking gibberish punctuated with little sighs and giggles. The sweetness gets to me, I kiss her back and she turns to give me a body slam hug. I’m surprised that for the second day in a row she doesn’t ask for bobbies first thing, instead she finishes hugging me (um, I can’t breath, could you get off my face please?), climbs over me and on top of daddy. Our day has started with hugs, cuddles and playing before finally moving on to bobbies and muffins.
As I write this Squiggle Bug and Smunchie are rocking out to some Bernstein, happy and energetic and very inviting. I’m think I’m going to go join them, I even have enough energy to do more than a couple slow turns with fake enthusiasm and am ready to bust some moves. My back is feeling better this morning and I’m ready to join the living room dance party.
