Midnight charm

Ladybug is a light sleeper, so much so that we moved the TV from the living room – which bordered her bedroom – to the opposite end of the house so we could watch movies at night without disturbing her. With most of our post-bedtime activity now taking place away from Ladybug’s room, she pretty much dozes uninterrupted.

Until midnight.

That’s the time my husband and I usually go to bed. As we turn off the lights and head to slumber, we very quietly open Ladybug’s door. There’s a whole technique to it – put your right hand on the handle, the left hand on the door and frame, slowly turn the knob while bracing the door, gently push it back against the wall and tiptoe to Ladybug’s crib to check on her.

No matter how hard we try to do this as noiselessly as possible, she inevitably wakes up. Sometimes it’s just to roll over and say hi. Other times she’ll open her eyes, point at the ceiling and ask “what’s that?”

“Shhhhh,” I’ll whisper. “It’s not time to get up yet. Go back to sleep.”

That’s all the coaxing she typically needs to fall asleep again. But last night the door handle had no sooner clicked that Ladybug was standing up in her crib, very wide awake.

“Shhhhh,” I whispered. “It’s not time to get up yet. Go back to sleep.”

“Huggies!” she whispered back, her arms extended.

How could I possibly resist that? I leaned over the edge of her crib and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed.

“You ready to go back to sleep now?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she replied, laying back down. “Night night.”

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