Most of us, in our tiredness, and sometimes in our rush to get our child to sleep so we can do the rest of the chores or have me-time, leave out that crucial, special moment of our child’s last minutes awake. I too have long been guilty as I breastfed my son to sleep while browsing social media.
It occurred to me one night that my son brought up this new word, ‘Remember’.
My perpetual reminder to him starts with ‘Remember, we need to brush our teeth?’
‘Remember, we ate candy already? So no more chocolates, okay?’
‘Remember..?’
J paused away from nursing and said, ‘Remember, Mama, remember, bus?’
I could have impassively said, ‘Yes, yes, bus, go to sleep now.’
But I took the moment to lead him on, surprised at his words and surprised at my very own teachable moment- my 2-year-old boy trying to do small talks. I marvel at his simple joys. I just had to.
‘Yes, mama remembers. Mama loves the bus too. You like buses?’
I saw him smile through our feeding. Minutes later, I saw him close his eyes. Finally, sweet sleep.
Tomorrow’s another day again. I better think up more things to mention, and I shall make this our nightly ritual.
Brew mindfulness, much physical affection, and some words to recap the day blissfully, and we all get the perfect night’s sleep, and our child’s tank filled to fullness. After all, no need is more fundamental than the need for love and affection.
And that, Moms and Dads, is how we build emotional stability, and happy sleep for our child, and us night after night.
