Somehow, over the last few weeks, Liliana's bedtime routine has become a long production. She wants us to read her a story, then tell her a story, then sing her a song, and then stay in her room until she falls asleep. The falling asleep part used to take about 15 minutes but then started to take longer and longer until Jason or I found we were spending an hour or more in her room every night.
So we decided it's time for Liliana to start putting herself to sleep. As her motivation, taking a page from the Golwitzer playbook, we've been using temporary tattoos. If she goes to sleep without screaming, crying, or getting out of bed, she gets to put the tattoo on in the morning. It has been a sufficient motivator a couple of times over the last week and she has happily been sporting a couple of tattoos and Jason and I have happily been enjoying an extra hour of quiet together in the evenings. We are hoping for long-term results even if our daughter temporarily looks like Kat Von D.
Tonight I tucked her into bed with her tattoo in a plastic baggie, ready for successful placement in the morning, but was met with some resistance. She started to whimper and told me that she wanted someone to watch her while she fell asleep because she was scared. I tried to figure out what she was scared of so that I could assure her she was safe but she wasn't able to verbalize whatever it was. So finally, I told her that I was going to pray. I told her what I was going to do, closed my eyes and asked God to watch over her while she goes to sleep. That seemed to calm her instantly. So I told her I loved her and that I would be back to check on her. As I left the room she said, "Mommy, will you close the door so God doesn't get out?"
P.S. We haven't heard a peep from her room since. Thank you, God, for the peace you bring and for watching over us even when we're going to sleep.
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