He Likes To Rock and Roll All Night and Part of Every Day

I believe I have mentioned Silas's mid-night ravers. Well, the good news is, they are down to a minimum these days. The bad news is, he's thrown us a curve-ball with early-afternoon parties so wild the cops knock on his door at least twice a day. Who knew there was a market for naptime escapades? He's nothing if not a risk-taker, and those parties up on the upper level are booming.

Very recently I went up to quell the crib acrobatics and found this:

Let me back up.

Ours is a Mommy Shirt household. It began with Calvin, it skipped straight over sleep-loving Ruby and now, it has landed square on Siley.

The idea was born years ago, by the light of the moon, when all other ideas had been exhausted. The ideas were exhausted, the Mommy was exhausted, the Daddy was exhausted. The child was not. He was nervous and edgy and waging war against sleep. In a moment of sheer inspiration, I shucked my shirt and handed it to Little C, telling him to smell it. "It smells just like Mommy!" He buried his nose in that shirt, rolled over and went to sleep. I emerged from our tunnel-of-doom stairwell in my unmentionables, with a smile on my face. Dude slept peacefully with a continual succession of Mommy shirts every single night for the next year. It was a miracle. I was certified Genius. (Although I still haven't received my certificate.)

Now, the torch has been passed to Siley, but for different reasons. We have been doing everything we can think of to help him along in the bonding process and sleeping with something that smells like Mama (or Daddy) seemed like a great idea.

He caught on right away and loved it.

He snuggled up with that shirt every night at bedtime.

But apparently, come naptime, he upped the ante.

Homeboy stripped himself clean and put that Mommy shirt ON.

He looked so guilty when I first walked in.

Then he looked so confused when I said "Mommy will be right back".

Then he looked downright perplexed when I returned with the camera.

Then he laughed.

Then I laughed.

Then I told him to lay down and go to sleep.

Then he cried.

Then he screamed at the injustice.

Then...he slept. In a Mommy shirt.

The end.


*Extra-grainy pics courtesy of a very dark nap-time room/rave. :)