After you’ve had three girls, three easy girls, nothing prepares you for the sheer insanity that comes with having a boy.
Our girls’ nightly routine may have been convoluted and tiresome at times, but the boy’s nighttime routine borders on crazy.
Did you know girls like to settle down with nice quiet music, relaxing books and lullabies? I might be oversimplifying them just a bit, but you get the idea. Did you know boys need to expend energy and feel like they’ve successfully taken down their father?
Nighttime is just another way that having a boy smacked in the face of everything I thought I knew as a parent. This boy, my boy, needs to get rough. He needs to tumble. He needs to get thrown around a bit! Good thing his father is happy to oblige.
I used to get so mad at my husband for getting him all riled up before bed. The sun would go down and suddenly it was “Wrestling Time!” in our house. Couches and tables were moved. Cushions were used to form a wrestling ring around our living room. These boys would tickle and twist and jump on each other until someone cried uncle. I’ll be honest, it was usually my husband and not the boy.
After about twenty minutes of all-out male bonding bliss the boy would stand up and say “I need a bath and I’m tired.” Just like that. The boy who didn’t sleep for the first two years of his life, would ask if he could get ready for bed!
Suddenly, I wasn’t so mad. I still didn’t get it, but I wasn’t so mad.