But I don't wanna go to sleep

We've started a new routine this week with Madeleine of reading in the chair next to her bed and then putting her down immediately after reading. (we usually finish with Goodnight Moon-- that's such a great book.) In the past we've read some nights and others we've just spent time playing or rocking until she falls asleep. It is nice to have her fall asleep against you (okay-- its better than nice, its really awesome) but Madeleine is getting to the point that she can fight off sleep for hours and all that ends up doing is throwing everyone's routine off.

In any case, we finished reading tonight and I laid her down in her crib. Prior to reading, I had changed her diaper with her lying in the crib. I can't remember if I've mentioned but due to Madeleine's lack of a large intestines, her stool (still my favorite parent word) is rather watery and requires a strict policy of Ilex paste (a thick paste) against her skin and then a second layer of vaseline to cover the Ilex paste. (Yes, we go through a LOT of vaseline every week... I've gotten some strange stares at the drug store.)

In any case, I was cleaning in the kitchen and heard Madeleine banging around in her crib-- when she doesn't want to go to sleep, she sits up and usually plays with the suction machine or any other cord that she can get her hand on. I planned on giving her a few minutes in the dark before I went back in to lay her down when all of a sudden, I heard her crying frantically. I immediately went into the room as Madeleine rarely crys and when I turned on the light, her face shone back at me. I didn't think to take a picture but it became immediately clear that she had taken the top off the vaseleine tub that I'd left in the crib and had smeared vaseline all over her face. She wasn't very happy when I rubbed it off but that wore off as soon as I stopped scrubbing. I laid her back down once she calmed down and she fell asleep almost immediately. Too funny.

I will say this much-- her skin felt extremely soft when I rubbed her cheek before walking out. I'll let you know if her skin is soft and radiant tomorrow morning. Who knows? Perhaps she'll start a new fad... Have a good night.