Today you asked me how I got my babies to fall asleep on their own. They are so good at it that surely I must have sleep trained from the day they were born. You want to know my secret? I held them as much as I wanted. I threw out all books that told me to let my newborn cry themselves to sleep. God gave us these precious gifts, these tiny, dependent lives to care for, to hold, and to cherish. Why has our generation been told it's a bad thing to hold our babies too much? After nine months of being held warm and tight, with your heartbeat as his lullaby, why do you expect him to fall asleep easily without it?
I know I'm not much older than you, but I've had my babies and they all fall asleep on their own now. None of them want snuggles before bed, and I miss it. I ache for that sleepy baby cradled in my arms, wanting and needing nothing but my touch to fall asleep. So New Mom, cherish it. Enjoy those cuddles and snuggles. Take a deep breath of that sweet baby smell and kiss that soft little cheek. I promise you, you won't regret it.
"The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."
- Ruth Hamilton
