Kissed to Sleep

I love my daughter to death. I like making her giggle and enjoy snuggle time. I must confess though…I am not one of those “rock baby to sleep” parents. Part of me likes the idea of her teaching herself to fall asleep on her own, and the other part of me is a little too impatient to wait out all her wiggles and curiousity before she falls asleep. In light of this, my normal strategy is to feed her, swaddle her, give her some snuggles, and then lay her down. Sometimes I have to come back in the room a time or two to help her find the pacifier she has lost from pulling it out and in of her mouth a hundred times, but overall, she normally does great unless she is in a funk.

Two nights ago was a funk night.

I “replugged” her pacifier a few times. I played her mobile a few more times. 45+ minutes of back and forth from the room happened. I was getting worn out and ready to try something new. So I pulled her out of her crib and swayed in the rocking chair with her in the darkened room. She was still wide awake–craning her head to look at everything possible in the darkness–so I just pulling her close and  started kissing her. It was then that I think God gave me a gift.

I had the idea to kiss her to sleep.

So from the top of her forehead to the tip of her nose, I kissed up and down while she closed her eyes (granted, she was probably closing them to keep from being poked in the eye, but I digress). After about 10 minutes she was fast asleep.

What a precious gift to slow down and make a special memory with my daughter…and what fun it will be to tell her one day of the night I kissed her to sleep.

Life is too short to not love intentionally at times.

“You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14)

Love someone well today. Love your spouse, your child, your friend, your parent, your coworker, your neighbor…whoever needs that extra something. You will likely both be blessed if you do.