"Rockee!"

Being off work this past week has been such a GIFT! I have really loved the extra time with Ry. We are in a little routine that includes a lot of snuggle time and some "rockee". She asks for both by name and I can't imagine not dropping what I am doing (which lately is coloring, playing animals or reading to her) to do so.
The "rockee" is a new thing. I am a true believer in the book Baby Wise and Chris and I have done a good job following the advice from the book, which in turn has given Ryan (and us) the gift of good sleep. Baby Wise recommends that a baby sleeps in his/her own room and crib from day one and that you put him/her down to sleep awake. We did both of these things from the start, along with establishing a schedule (sleep, eat, play: in that order). As all of my friends know I am married to this schedule and Chris is also! It seems to really have paid off for us. Ryan still sleeps on average 12-13 hours a night and still takes (2) 1.5-2 hour naps during the day. I know that sounds like a lot of sleep, but this kid is going non-stop when she is awake and she really needs the rest so she can wake up and learn more! Ryan has been spoiled 1-2 days a week with rocking at her Mamaw and Grandpa's house since birth. That is what grandparents are for! Ryan knew that was the routine at their house and did not expect it at home.......until we moved her to her new room and put a rocking recliner in the room. This recliner must remind her of her room at their house because she suddenly began to ask for "rockee" before being put in her crib. I couldn't say no, especially since I was already reading her books before her naps while sitting in the recliner. It just seemed natural to follow with some "rockee", and I had the time! The addition of "rockee" to our nap and nighttime routine was met by some resistance from Chris. (Since I am dealing with my own self-inflicted guilt and the gift of 3 weeks to spoil Ryan I was the easy target). He was worried that we would ruin all the hardwork that we put in early to make Ryan an independent sleeper. He had a good point. The last thing we needed was for Ryan to quit sleeping well, or suddenly rely on us to fall asleep with the addition of a newborn to our lives. I let him know that all I was doing was rocking and snuggling her for 5-15 minutes. She almost never falls asleep and so she is still putting herself to sleep in the crib. It is just our special time together. There really is nothing better than listening to her breath and looking into her eyes as she settles down for sleep. I knew that once Chris got a taste of "rockee" he would be sold. So, after Barney Live he put Ry in her crib and she of course asked for it. He came out of her room and told me she was asking to be rocked. I had just started doing the dishes and told Chris that if she was still asking for it in 5 minutes, when I was done, I would go rock her. He said "well, I am just gonna do it now" and went back into her room to rock her! He realized that it only added 10 minutes to the routine and she still put herself to sleep just fine. He also appreciated how sweet that time was. We are now both hooked! We don't do it every naptime (well, I do) but it is part of our nighttime routine. We still start off in our big bed and after she drinks her sippy cup of milk and snuggles in between us one of us will say "OK Ry, time to go nite nite." She immediatley says no (another new word to her vocab- not my favorite!) and then she will say "rockee?" And if you agree, she will gladly grab her bunny and paci and let you take her to her room.
So, do we plan to start off with rocking the new baby to sleep? Absolutely NOT! We will follow the same plan that we did with Ryan and establish good (independent) sleeping habits and let Mamaw and Grandpa do the rocking at their house. I am pretty sure in 18 months when Ryan is too big for "rockee" we will gladly rock #2! Or if they both want to be "rockeed" we will buy another rocking recliner!