We Rock.

I love rocking my sweet little guy.

Whether it's for 2 minutes or 20 minutes, it's one of the best parts of my day. Those are the times I clear my mind of everything else going on and just smile and sing to the most precious gift God has given me.

It's hard to believe all the books and women that advised me NOT to rock my baby to sleep. I remember a friend coming over when I was putting Linc to bed.... she said to me, "Do you always rock him to sleep? My husband wouldn't let me do that....you know they become dependent on you rocking them, right?"

I just gave her a smile and said "I'm okay with that".

I mean, I get it. If I spent an hour before bedtime rocking him completely to sleep every night since birth then he might expect that every night. But, telling me not to hold my little guy close and help soothe him for a few minutes before I lay him down? Why not? And, in the future, if he needs me to rock him longer occasionally, I sure won't mind doing so. Some nights I've even gone in when he's already asleep and held him for a while before I go to bed.

Our bedtime routine goes something like this....It's our version of "Leading baby to sleep"....I can't remember which book this was in, but we've used this method for the past 6-7 months and bedtime has been rahter peacful :)
To wind him down we take him into the nursery and dim the lights. We change his diaper and clothes, followed with a warm bottle and bedtime story. Next, we turn on the sound machine, turn off the remaining lights and sing him a song (or three) while rocking him. By this time his eyes start getting heavier and he gets a little squirmy (meaning put me down so I can sleep!). The first 4 months(ish) we waited until he was completly asleep to lay him down, but since then he's been pretty much awake when he goes down. We never had to let him cry it out for half an hour... not even fifteen minutes (I honestly have no idea how people do this!). And he isn't dependent on us rocking him every night, in fact, some nights he just wants us to put him down so he can flop on his belly and pass out.

So, what wackadoo know-it-all convinced all these women that rocking their baby would make them so dependent? Please, tell me why I would want to just lie him down and leave....I mean, I know Big Brother is on, but with TiVo, YouTube, etc....who needs to rush? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get it.

Here's what I think. Don't believe everything you read in books and don't listen to all the advice from other moms.  Spend every moment with your precious little baby and soak up every moment that you're able to just hold them. Do what feels right to you.

As for me and my house....we shall rock!