We drove to Massachusetts this past weekend to watch my brother and his wife receive masters degrees in their fields. While I looked forward to seeing my family again, there was a part of me that was nervous about the weekend because I wasn't sure how Kyle was going to handle it. The little guy doesn't always do well when he's forced to sit for long periods of time. He wiggles around in church, cries at restaurants, and throws tomatoes at the opera. Yet, to our delight, Kyle not only tolerated the graduation ceremony, he seemed to love it, clapping and yelping throughout. He even got a kick out of the caps and tassels... and even the gown, which is not all too surprising, since the little guy thinks our shower curtain at home is hilarious (I do have serious concerns about his sense of humor).
(Above: Kyle sees what a person can get with an expensive education: yellow rope)
While the graduation went well, bedtime that evening was a little more rocky. Putting Kyle to bed was like diffusing a bomb. Our kid had little sleep throughout the day because his nap time was interrupted by the ceremonies and dinner, and he was overtired. The slightest noise or jolt could set him off. My mom started the calming process by reading him a story. Then Jennifer quietly gave him a bottle as he relaxed. His eyes became heavy as he slowly, slowly felt the energy of the day slip away. Once the bottle was done, Jennifer picked him up and he leaned against her, ready for bed. Then my father walked into the room.
"HEY BUDDY! HOW ARE YA?" he exclaimed as he got up close to Kyle's face. Kyle jolted awake and smiled widely at his grandfather. Both my parents then barraged my son with kisses, getting him excited again. After that, they gave him back to us so we can put the now-wired 11-month-old to bed. Suddenly it was no longer a mystery as to why my parents always have a hard time getting Kyle to sleep whenever they babysit.
Our son cried and cried. He did not want to be in bed when there was so much fun going on with his grandparents in the other room. In the end, my mother was a great help, picking up Kyle and rocking him back to sleep. The little guy also got a glimpse of what we were doing, and saw that we were just watching the Celtics lose miserably to the Magic. I think he realized that it wasn't worth staying up for that, and he fell asleep. I wish I had done the same.
While the graduation went well, bedtime that evening was a little more rocky. Putting Kyle to bed was like diffusing a bomb. Our kid had little sleep throughout the day because his nap time was interrupted by the ceremonies and dinner, and he was overtired. The slightest noise or jolt could set him off. My mom started the calming process by reading him a story. Then Jennifer quietly gave him a bottle as he relaxed. His eyes became heavy as he slowly, slowly felt the energy of the day slip away. Once the bottle was done, Jennifer picked him up and he leaned against her, ready for bed. Then my father walked into the room.
"HEY BUDDY! HOW ARE YA?" he exclaimed as he got up close to Kyle's face. Kyle jolted awake and smiled widely at his grandfather. Both my parents then barraged my son with kisses, getting him excited again. After that, they gave him back to us so we can put the now-wired 11-month-old to bed. Suddenly it was no longer a mystery as to why my parents always have a hard time getting Kyle to sleep whenever they babysit.
Our son cried and cried. He did not want to be in bed when there was so much fun going on with his grandparents in the other room. In the end, my mother was a great help, picking up Kyle and rocking him back to sleep. The little guy also got a glimpse of what we were doing, and saw that we were just watching the Celtics lose miserably to the Magic. I think he realized that it wasn't worth staying up for that, and he fell asleep. I wish I had done the same.
Posts
1 comment:
Wow, I've had that experience too-- mostly when we've taken long car trips and get in late, then just want to get Kent to bed while he's sleepy, but of course whoever we're visiting has to get in a bunch of fun Kent time. Travel makes for interesting sleep (or non-sleep) habits. Glad he handled the rest of it well!
Post a Comment