Thursday, January 8, 2009

Snooze Button

I have a lot of time on my hands to observe Delaney's behavior and at this age, while extraordinarily cute, she doesn't seem all that complicated physiologically.  You put in the food, it comes out fairly regularly.  You make a funny face and she gives you a wonderful little smile  But for the life of me I can't figure out why, if she's tired, I have to teach her how to sleep.  

Sleep.  It's what babies are famous for.  There's the old phrase "sleeping like a baby".  Did the author of that little nugget have to wrestle with themselves about when to put the baby down for a nap?  Do you nurse the baby to sleep or put them down drowsy so they can fall asleep on their own?  Do you go pick them up when they wake in the night or wait and let them get themselves back to sleep?  And if the author went the cry-it-out method, did they pace the floor chewing their fingernails, resting one hand on the doorknob, tears streaming down there own cheeks, wondering if they are ruining their child forever by letting her cry.  Or perhaps they tried the pick the baby up when it cries method, where you are up all night because she is only napping for 45 minutes at a time and in 4 hour waves at night and you are practically dead on your feet, but don't want to break the bond of trust you are supposed to be establishing with the baby when she cries.

I look forward to teaching her to read, swim, and eat olives.  I know she'll need help with a two wheeled bicycle and walking on her feet.  I had no idea sleep was going to be the first lesson we'd conquer together, nor that it would be so absolutely confounding to elucidate.  "You kind of put your head down.  When you are frantically rubbing your eyes and beginning to yawn is always a good time.  You close your eyes usually and perhaps shift your position a little and then you sort of go to sleep."

Either she's a poor study or I'm a crap teacher.  I'm betting on the latter.