Sappy, Sentimental, but True

So Patrick and I have been working very hard to get his bedtime routine down. Just when I thought I had worked out all the kinks, he caught his first cold in a year and our routine that had been working so well went right out the window.
He's starting to feel better now, and I've been trying to get him back on track.

Well, last night was awful. He was up until 10 at night, and then back up at 5 this am. I really missed my little guy today while I was at work, and wanted to have a nice, calm, easy bedtime. We played all afternoon, had a yummy dinner, and a nice warm bath. Then, we had a snack and read tons of books in his room. I plunked him into bed, turned out the light, and sat down next to him determined he would go to sleep. Well, that lasted about one minute before he was gesturing at the living room door.

I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to rock him to sleep in the chair. I confess to feeling momentary annoyance. After all, I had things to do and limited energy with which to get them done. Then I looked at his little hopeful face, sighed, and said "okay Buddy, lets go rock in the chair."

I turned off the living room lights, we settled into the chair, and started to rock. He was asleep within 5 minutes. I could now easily move him into his room, and get my stuff done, but I suddenly didn't want to. I breathed in the smell of his freshly shampooed hair, and cheese (from the rice cakes he'd had for a snack), and I thought about just how special this moment was. How much longer is he going to even want me to cuddle and rock him to sleep? All too soon, he'll be off with friends, doing the big kid thing, and his time as a baby will be just a memory for me. It then didn't matter that there were blocks all over the floor, and that I really needed to clean the kitchen. For just that short time, I was perfectly content to sit and rock my baby. Nothing else was even remotely important.

Anyway, we rocked for a few more minutes, and now he's settled peacefully in his bed. Now that I've stopped blubbering like a baby, I had to get this down. Of course, he'll look back on this post someday, and think I'm a total sap, but maybe he'll think of it down the road, when he's rocking his own baby to sleep.