Bedtime Bookworm

At one point, Xander was quite resistant to bedtime. He always liked it when mom and dad read him stories after bath and changing into PJ's, but when he started to get his molars, he didn't want to be put down. Babies don't like being horizontal when they're teething apparently, and since sleeping invariably involves lying horizontally, Xan wasn't having it.

Mom and dad, once willing to sit through half-hour to hour-long stretches of bed time, eventually decided that Xander needed to be a big boy, and would let Xander fall asleep on his own. At the tail end of the teething process however, this was still proving to be quite time consuming. But an accidental flip of a book into the crib proved a turning point. Ever the bookworm, Xander grabbed the book, plopped down on the bed, and read quietly. From that point on, bedtime became a breeze.

That's not to say there weren't missteps along the way. On the morning when mom and dad awoke to find a page from Xander's Toy Story Little Golden Book torn to shreds, they came to the realization that perhaps it would be best if only board books went into the crib. And while sometimes not even the board books survive the long haul, as his battered copy of Jamberry can testify, they certainly have much better odds. From Sandra Boynton, to Baby Einsteins, to Runaway Bunny, Xander has a bevy of board books, but Goodnight Gorilla and Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed the leaders in the clubhouse.

Now that Xander has his first (and almost his second) set of molars, bedtime (and nap time) is a lot more peaceful, and if mom and dad don't pick a board book for bedtime reading, he still goes to sleep fairly quickly, but if one comes out, you can bet that the bedtime bookworm is going to reach for it, roll up under his covers with it and fall asleep with a big smile on his face.