for this season

so, if you didn't already know, being a parent is hard. mr. Sherwood and I are incredibly blessed with frequent babysitters (my parents) for date nights and little outings here and there. but STILL.
it can get a little crazy around here sometimes.

Friday night we were driving around town on our date night talking about bed times. exciting date night material, I know ;)

Berkeley REFUSES to go to bed without a fight. he wants you to lay down beside his crib and hold his hand until he falls asleep. that can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. for real.
for a while there, getting Berkeley to sleep was Derek's job while I nursed sam or picked up the house. but as of last week, Berkeley wants mom, and only mom will do.

I kept getting so frustrated last week because all I wanted to do was put him to sleep quickly so I could go hang out on the couch with my hubby.

but during our date night talk, we reminded ourselves that this is just for this season.

there will come a time (and it will come sooner than we can imagine) that, not only will Berkeley not need my hand to fall asleep, he won't even be home for me to cuddle and love on. he'll be off at a friend's house, not needing his mommy. I should be cherishing this short time in our lives. Derek and I will have YEARS to sit on the couch and watch tv. and during that time, I have a feeling we'll reminisce and wish we had just one more night to hold Berkeley's hand as he falls asleep.

gotta love him :)

also, there are so many people who let their children cry it out, and it worked brilliantly for them. and let me just say, I wish it had worked for us. our lives would probably be so much easier right now. but it didn't work. it didn't feel right for our family and so we stopped. we have chosen to love Berkeley to sleep by cuddling him and holding his hand, so I need to accept that and embrace it :) embrace the hard. embrace the mess. embrace the tired. embrace.

so that's really why I was anxious to start blogging again. I want to document the moments of parenting that take my breath away so I can reflect on them, and so I can come back to them when it feels like this season of sleepless nights will never end.

 

oh, sweet sam. you sure do deal with a lot from your brother. but I know he loves you!