“There’s a full moon over Galway Bay tonight
Silver light over green and blue
And every place I travel through, I find
Some kinda sign that you’ve been through…”
-Steve Earle – “Ft. Worth Blues”
I love this picture and am a bit wistful when I say that you won’t see many more of these because we are winning the sleep war. For the longest time – it’s funny, in early parenthood everything little problem seems like it’s going to last forever. For example, Z had a nasty case of colic and Dr. O’C and I just could not see past that. Now that it’s gone, it seems almost like it never happened. I reckon that we’re evolutionarily programmed to forget the hard things so we’re more inclined to have more kids – survival of the species.
Anyway, for what seemed like the longest time the longest time, Z wouldn’t sleep unless he was rocked to sleep in either my or Dr. O’C’s arms. This was nice for a while, there’s something wonderful about holding your child while he sleeps, but after a while the novelty wore off a little. So we’ve been fighting a sleep war with young Z for what seems like years. In the past week or so, Dr. O’C has made a breakthrough and can get Z to sleep in his cot unaided with a minimum of screaming.
Last night I had my first small victory. His mother was out on the town, leaving me with more parenting responsibility than I am typically comfortable with. I was expecting a few hours of screaming and battling over his newly established bedtime of 8:00. I took Zach upstairs at 7:30, read him a story or two, sang him a song, put him in his cot and then slunk quietly out of the room. And then it was quiet… and it remained quiet… and I did a silent little victory dance, noisily knocking over a stack of books in the process… but it stayed quiet. The small victories are the best.
The song I’ve been using lately is Steve Earle’s “Fort Worth Blues”. I’ve neither been to nor had any desire to go to Ft. Worth, Texas but this is a great song that speaks to the wanderlust part of my soul. It is also a remarkably good lullaby. Thanks to my friend Jamie who, having been through this himself, had the foresight to send us a CD of his daughter Chloe’s favorite lullabies. I’ve added some of my own, of course, but I’ve found in parenting thus far that you take what works and use it with a smile. And last night it was this song.
“But Amsterdam was always good for grieving
And London never fails to leave me blue
Paris never was my kinda town
So I walked around with the Ft. Worth Blues…”
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Steve Earle’s classic “El Corazon” is available from Amazon
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by David K
18 Jan 2008 at 14:24
Great song, great story. Our daughter went through the rocking phase pretty quick, but I really miss those days when she’d fall asleep in my arms. BUT there is also something great about her going to bed at an appointed time and putting herself to sleep in her crib.
All of Steve’s best songs sound a little like “Ft. Worth Blues”.
by Nichole
18 Jan 2008 at 14:30
You’re just chock full of great news this week! Congratulations on the win.
That’s a gorgeous picture of Sinead. She’s such a lovely lady.
by CDV
18 Jan 2008 at 14:31
Isn’t she! Don’t know how she ended up with me. Fortunately it’s looking like Zach has his mother’s looks.
by arizaphale
18 Jan 2008 at 15:02
Oooo I don’t know….there’s a fair drop of dad in there that I can see. Of course, being a geneticist you’ll know about the theory that babies look like their dads for the first couple of years in order to establish parentage and therefore survival. Fear not, as the long dark tunnel of early babyhood passes, many more seemingly endless problems pass away painlessly into memory. Teething, solids, sitting up, mobility, shots, language and toilet training. These too shall pass.
Thoroughly enjoyed Steve Earle and a great picture of Sinead. Would LOVE to have seen your victory dance!!
by Jessica K
18 Jan 2008 at 16:46
Good for you! I admire you guys for establishing a bedtime routine with Zach. I couldn’t do it with Grayson (big mistake) because I felt too mean letting him cry. I miss those baby-rocking, co-sleeping days though. Big time.
Sinead looks beautiful in that picture. She’s got a great smile.
by Jessica K
18 Jan 2008 at 17:29
Hey, I know you don’t care for memes, but I tagged you anyway! Or more appropriately I tagged Zach. I won’t be offended if you don’t play along, so just do it if you want!
by Jamie
18 Jan 2008 at 18:05
That is a great moment when you can just lay them down to sleep. Unfortunately, just like the bad (colic), the good will not last forever either. Chloe was sleeping great for about a year, and suddenly has insisted on only sleeping in our bed (and not going to sleep easily anymore to boot).
Chloe liked Steve Earle, but she loved Laura Cantrell at that age.
by Harlekwin
18 Jan 2008 at 18:39
Sometimes the smallest victories are the most satisfying. I think you’re both growing, right along with Zach.
by strangescottishgirl
19 Jan 2008 at 11:19
victory dance… i can see it now… hahahaha
oh zdv is a sweetie. how does your tagging work? how come sinead was tagged in your rna post but not in this one? and what is this———–>>>>
wee map of oxford for, oh that’s another joy, when zach reaches the questions stage… why is the sky blue? where does the rain come from? why did you dress me in those pants that went under my arms that time I was a baby?
by KathyF
19 Jan 2008 at 15:13
I know exactly what you mean, those months that seem like years.
Except in our case, it was years. Neither child ever went to sleep on their own, and Daughter Number Two never slept in her bed alone until she was seven. (She slept with her sister mostly, who put up with her kicking.)
I hear she sleeps okay now, though, so that’s something.