Night Night, Little one

This little lullaby is sung regularly at our church, complete with hand motions, during the children's song time at the beginning of the service. I love it.

Wonderful Lord, Wonderful God
You are my Shield, My Protector
I can lie down, go off to sleep
Knowing You're watching over me

Wonderful Lord, Wonderful God
Help me to trust You forever
I need not fear, 'cause You are near
I can lie down and sleep in peace

After lots of sleepless nights and regular wee-hour feedings, I was convinced early on that the best way to help Brooks to go to sleep on his own was to lovingly dump him in his bed, kiss him goodnight and shut the door on my way out. Now that he's old enough to say "Momma, more sing please" and "NO night night, CHAIR! blanket!" I've begun wavering on my commitment to self-soothing. I've really grown to love our pre-nap and pre-bedtime cuddles, and regularly stretch out the bedtime routine, knowing full well that I may have regrets about it down the road.

Last night, all clean and warm after bath-time, he wanted me to sing to him over and over, until eventually I asked if he'd sing to me. "What will you sing for me, Brooks-ie?" I asked. He raised his hands to his shoulders and, palms upward, started to sway back and forth and sing "Jesus" over and over. I giggled through my teary eyes - he was mimicking me in church that morning. He gave me a darling grin and buried his head into my shoulder saying "Momma sing, momma sing."

My son's innocence reminds me that I need to rest my head on the Lord's shoulder, that I need to listen to His songs over me when it's time for me to rest. The images of God in both roles - as a child in Mary's arms and as a Heavenly Father protecting me as I sleep - have been so good for me lately. He's shown me how to trust, and He shown me how He's trust-worthy. And I'm comforted knowing He loves me and He knows exactly what I need.

...Help me to trust You forever,
I need not fear, 'cause You are near,
I can lie down and sleep in peace.

Here are a couple of sleepy Brooks pictures... Thankfully our good friends the Grizzles live very close by - we can put him down to sleep in a pack n play at their house, and then bundle him up for a quick walk two blocks back to our flat. He doesn't mind a bit, because he usually gets two sets of bedtime cuddles on those nights.



He still sleeps curled up in his crib like a turtle with no shell. I love it!


Sleep tight, Little... You are loved.