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They call me the Baby Whisperer

I feel a little bad for Kelly sometimes. She gets sad that bedtime is not her time. Cole will run up to her and give her hugs, pounce on her when she comes in the door from work, and just generally be a maniac seeking her attention for the rest of the night while she's home. Lots of whining. And let's give her credit for not yelling and being a calm talker. I tend to be the more hardcore instant reaction type. But when it's time for bed it's dad.

Call in the reinforcements.

Last night with Leda, Kelly fought the good battle. Closed eyes. You pick them up. You set them down in bed. And...eyes open. Wide awake.

There's a trick to it though. It's about the right head angle and body position. You have to watch for them to settle for a little bit after the eyes close. It's about moving them as little as possible in the "transfer."

And to be fair to Kelly, my son had a trick where you could just wait until the Soothie dropped out of his mouth to know he was deep enough asleep to move him. Kelly thought last night that bottle dropping out of Leda's mouth meant she was knocked out. Not the same though.

We reviewed the game footage this morning and I did some coaching...dropped bottle is a fake play babies use. Don't be fooled. You gotta wait for the heavy breathing and limp body. It's like poker and you have to call their bluff. If you cuddle tighter and they don't protest, they're ready. Heh.

Thank goodness Cole has reached an age where we can put him in his crib awake. He'll just lay in there talking and playing until he gets sleepy enough. Good kid.