viviendoenlaluna

[viviendoenlaluna]

nap tunes

Nobody said it was easy to make a toddler nap. Well, nobody except sleep trainers, which to my defense exemplify perfectly the desperate need of moms to find a perfect formula to wind down those cutesy balls of energy so they curl up on their tiny beds and give them a well deserve two hour break to "do chores" or scroll mindlessly on their phones. We've gone through many techniques here, and nothing has ever stuck. "You should create routine", they say; yet the moment Luna starts making associations of certain songs/stories/blankets/plushies/patting rhythms/etc. with sleep, she begins to despise them and whine whenever we start doing them after about a week. It has always led me to create weird performances for her to distract her from the fact that I'm actually trying to get her to sleep. A few of my favourite include: -"opening her" to see what's wrong inside -gnome party -playing air guitar to flamenco music -giving her a facial and last and weirdest: -eating tacos off of her She obviously then gets the normal treatment at daycare, which is getting a blanket and a couple pats on the back until she gets bored of not playing with the other kids and eventually dozes off. So I'm pretty certain that today when I said "I'm tired, can you help me sleep",- with hopes that she'd realize she'd been awake for 8 hours (way more that her "sleep window" is supposed to be) and wanted to do the same,- she definitely grabbed all the skills she has learned, told me to lay down, covered me with a blanket, grabbed a toy piano and began singing the ABC song as loud as she was capable of. It was hard not to laugh, but I still kept my eyes shut hoping that my little Elton John would follow my lead. She did not, of course, and the next performance was an innovation in music with her playing a silicone cup cover with a toy pink teapot. Being a mom has told me to let go of certain things, and sleep routines were the first to go down the drain. And yes, I'm exhausted all the time, but how else would I get to experience such intimate indie music concerts right in my own house?

[viviendoenlaluna]

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) dir. Chris Columbus

[viviendoenlaluna]

"Yes, this is Life"

Luna's wearing the pink winter beanie that her grandpa got her, with those cute silly ears sticking out, and the two straps that are supposed to be tied under her chin, but which she sucks absentmindedly every once in a while. She's covered in fuzzy blankets; too fuzzy, one could say, as they leave traces of themselves in Luna's clothes, hands and round cheeks. But it was her granny who got her that blanket, so it is the family's duty to keep it until it can give no more warmth. The elevator doors open, and Hannah, the very sweet hunchback neighbour, holds them so everyone can come inside. Hannah gives a warm smile as she waits, always so kind and polite. Everyone comes inside the elevator, and Hannah turns to look at Luna cuddled in her stroller. "Hello, baby, you're beautiful." She mouths the phrase that most people engaging with Luna will say. She gets called beautiful, adorable, cute on a daily basis: it's all so repetitive but it never gets old. Luna stares in awe at Hannah, watching her lips move and processing all the information her new brain can muster. "Yes, this is Life," Hannah responds to Luna's interested look. And it dawns on me, for the last six months Luna has been introduced to Life, and Life has been introducing itself to her. Hannah explaining it so plainly and so directly strikes a chord, and I can't help but tear up a bit inside. I don't know if it was her tone, or merely that it was such a simple phrase loaded with a lot of meaning. Life, with all its colours, lights, darkness, movements, sounds, smells, textures, pains, joys, flavours, voices, temperatures, and more, had fallen upon this tiny creature, aided by me, her father, and many loved ones. I'm sure Luna is very pleased to meet Life. At least I know we're trying to make her feel that way every day.