It is such a shame that Barbara of Footprints in the Sand and I didn't live in South Carolina at the same time. It would have been such fun to hang out with her. Barbara was here for years before I got here and then moved to France.
Barbara is the mom to two of the cutest boys in France. I loved getting to know her son Nathan through her wonderful post. Now I am getting to know her new baby Noah!
I know you are going to love getting to know Barbara through her post below.
When JDaniel4's Mom asked me to do a guest post for Pause for Life, I immediately thought “YES”!
Then I sat down at my computer and I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually paused.
It seems that when I’m not taking care of my four week old I am trying to keep the two year old from destroying the house. Even though I was spending every waking second with my kids, I wasn’t taking any real time for them.
So that night I asked my husband to be on baby duty. I left him a bottle and told him I would take over the toddler bedtime routine.
Promptly at 8 I led my toddler to his room and tucked him in. We turned on his lamp and watched the stars dance on the ceiling. We sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” at least five times and then my son patted the side of his bed and asked me to lie down.
How could I turn down such a gracious request?
I lay down next to him and wrapped him in my arms. I realized I hadn’t held him like that in months.
When the lamp finally turned off, he grabbed my hand and placed it in his. Minutes later I heard his peaceful snoring and he was finally asleep.
In this moment I breathed in his smell and thanked God for making me a mother.
When I finally emerged from his room, an hour later, I was so grateful I had taken the time to be with him. It definitely was not the normal bedtime routine, but it was so worth it.
The next night he asked me to tuck him in again. I tried to draw the line after the third round of “Twinkle Twinkle”, but I couldn’t resist those chubby cheeks.
Thank you so much for having me! What an honor!
ReplyDeleteI love Barbara's blog! This post was great. bedtime can be so special. It can drive you crazy too, but those cuddles are worth it!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet and endearing post! It is so hard to balance when you have a newborn and a toddler at home!
ReplyDeleteAwwww, how sweet! I love that story, Barbara!
ReplyDeleteShe could change the words of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with ABC song.. same tune.. This is such a sweet story.. When my grandson age 5 stays the night I always lay down with him after reading 5 books.. it's so awesome to have him hold my hand and then settle down to heavy breathing and snoring. God is so good~!~! Have a Tiggeriffic Day~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet post. Any one who is a mom knows that truly spending time with your child is very different than being in the same house with your child. Now you could teach him a new song....
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet post!
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to make sure you spend quality time with more than one child...especially with baby. Good for you Barbara.
Those are the best moments! My 13 year old still demands I come in, ask a quota of questions about his day, and give him a hug before he goes to bed. Those bedtime routines are such an important connecting time - it goes straight to their hearts (mine, too)!
ReplyDeleteAwww, love moments like that! It still happens for me from time to time, as well.
ReplyDeleteWe kept the rocking chair from when my kids were all babies and the other night, one of them asked me to rock them. At first I hesitated and said, "You're too big" but then something clicked inside my brain, warning me that it won't be too much longer until they won't want me to even kiss them goodnight.
So there I sat, rocking my 7-year old son in his old rocking chair. And I loved every minute of it.
Take what you can...and treasure those moments! Loved this post!
What a sweet post! I have twins, and my husband and I try really hard to spend quality time with each of them on a one-to-one basis.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!!! Such a sweet post. Motherhood is absolutely awesome. It's even better when we get a chance to stop and take it all in!
ReplyDeleteHe really does have the best cheeks. I may have told you that like a million times already though.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad other parents "breathe in their kid's smells". I thought I was just weird or something.
Miss you!
m.
That does sound truly wonderful. And yes, can't be every night, but every once in a while so worth it
ReplyDeleteI love this. I know how wonderful it is to hug your older child after spending time with the baby. It almost feels like coming home. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! Reminding me I need to be pausing more! My boys both LOVE Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I'm not sure what exactly makes that song so magical but it is a constant at our house. :)
ReplyDeleteSo sweet, Barbara. It's good to pause for a bit and break the routine up...it does a soul good :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful moment you shared with Nathan! Sometimes it's good to give each child some time alone with us. Great post Barbara :)
ReplyDeleteLove this post...
ReplyDeleteI love snuggling and reading and singing with Broxton... the day that he is "too old" for that is going to break my heart :(
I loved this post Barbara because I remember this time in my life. So many friends who'd had a second child before me told me to make sure to attend to the toddler's needs first - the baby wouldn't remember. I tried to take the advice but there were so many things I couldn't juggle at first. I remember trying to read Deaglan a story at bedtime the first week I got home with Naveen and crying because I couldn't finish it because I had to tend to the baby (who wouldn't take a bottle). Precious, sweet, hard days my friend.
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