February 1, 2016

Dear Baby,

The thing about group mentality is that it can really get to you. It’s not as cliche as that whole “of your friends jump off a cliff” stuff but there is something to peer pressure that is real. 

So when my mom friends all told me that they put their babies to bed at 7, I came home and promptly announced to your dad that we too would instill an ETB for you. Previously your VERY loose bedtime was somewhere between 8 and 9pm. We agreed to move your bedtime to 730 as a compromise. 

They say that sleep begets sleep and whoever “they” are- brilliant. So sweet Baby, you went to bed for the first night at 730 and had a better sleep than ever before. It may have been a fluke so like any good experiment, we repeated it the next night and had another success. Third night was an even earlier bedtime of 7 and an even better night and every night since has followed the same trend. 

We all sleep better in this house but most importantly, you get so many extra hours of sleep per week. More sleep is more time for you to grow and I am all for your growth and development. 

The weird side effect is that your dad and I have SO MUCH FREE TIME AT NIGHT. Like, what do we even do with all this time?????

So far, I have crocheted a few headbands, we have spent a lot of time watching Chopped, I have eaten a lot of popcorn and gone to bed every night at 10. It’s pretty rad. 

Baby, I hope you are a strong willed woman. I hope that you have tons of confidence to make independent decisions on your life and I hope that you have friends around you who never pressure you to make shitty decisions. 

That being said, if your friends suggest something to you as harmless as trying an hour earlier bedtime, please try it if it feels right to you. 

When you have great friends and feel good about decisions you make, you may just end up with something amazing (and strange) on your hand like redound dinners with your partner and prime time TV. 

Oh, and thanks for being such a sweet little sleeper. Poo poo poo.

xo

Mom