Rock a Bye Carter

At almost 5 years old, I still sometimes get to rock Carter to sleep and it warms my heart. Tonight it was almost necessary because I kept him up late and he was sooooo overtired that he was melting down and was having a hard time falling asleep on his own. He wanted to rock and I figured I owed him as much after pushing his bedtime, so he grabbed his taggie blanket, silly the whale, and his fuzzy comforter and he hopped into the rocking chair with me :) I rocked him to sleep most nights until he was 14 months old and anywhere from once a week to once a month since then. I know the practice is looked down upon by many, but thankfully after a short stint with crying it out at 9 months old it never affected him being able to fall asleep on his own most nights nor sleeping through the night without waking. I think the closeness of it helps both of us and our bond with each other. It also gives me a very convenient method of putting him down for an occasional nap when needed (he would never fall asleep during the day by just lying in his bed) and putting him to sleep at friends houses when we want to stay a little bit later. What a lucky Mom I am to have such a sweet little boy. I took this picture of Carter tonight after he fell asleep in my arms with my iPhone while holding it up in the air, in the dark, with the iPhone flash on the first try. It was a picture miracle :)