putting the kids to bed is not only a relief and a very enjoyable time of day for me, but an opportunity to see my offspring’s personalities in action. not so much their sleeping positions, but what it takes to get them to sleep shows in what direction the kids are heading.
young sebastian still dotes on Special Blanket. although Special Blanket did not come on holidays with us and does not leave the house, when based in hong kong, sebastian requires Special Blanket to get to sleep. or believes he does. many smart parents out there have two of whatever it is their child is addicted to. i do not have two Special Blankets, but i do have a cousin to Special Blanket, the same blanket except one side does not have a white background with tiny puppy dogs frolicking across it. it can be used in a pinch, but he won’t cuddle it. he will accept it on his bed, but he won’t rub the tag between his fingers and hold it beneath his nose like he does the original, the vintage Special Blanket.
jasper is attached to nothing. he has a blanket, but it isnt necessary. i have never once been called into the bedroom by jasper because he is unable to sleep unless something is returned to him. toys, they’re okay. jasper is still drawn to the bottom of his bed, nearer his sisters. he usually sleeps in that position, head at the bottom of the bed, and still occasionally falls out of bed. but no "sleep props" for him. he is a totally independent dude, dependant on the company of others.
SURPRISE carys does not, cannot, will not sleep without BEBE. BEBE is the equivalent of Special Blanket for her. however, there have been occasions recently where we have disciplined her by removing BEBE. while that may seem a road that will just lead straight to a therapist’s office, what were we to do and b: i love therapy!! at night she was handing BEBE to sela and jasper and they were playing a merry little game of pass the BEBE that would only stop when BEBE was dropped or they started dropping off to sleep. mc caught them in action and said, "you don’t want BEBE, i will take her away." and he did. and she cried and got all snotty. and after three removals and sleepless nights for carys (BEBE seemed to enjoy the break away though)…she stopped carelessly passing BEBE around.
sela is a true bedtime packrat. her beloved is spongebob square pants (although like BEBE and Special Blanket, SBSP does not come on holidays with us), but our social miss also requires the pillow made for her by peach, a blanket (actually a face flannel but who are we to argue with her perspective?) give to her by sandi, and BEBE’s sister, courtesy of dale. and of course, if one of her friends lent her something, it has to come to bed as well, and possibly a doll or some other toy. she mothers them all and covers BEBE’s sister carefully with the sandi blanket. i once assumed that having SBSP would be enough for her and left off a few of the integral players. MISTAKE. she yowled and protested, "MY BLANKET! MY BABY!" loudly until i handed them over to her, whereapon she smiled, said, "thank you" and snuggled down, thumb in mouth heading off to sleep sure in the knowledge that her kingdom was in order.
