one of the things that has helped me transition to sleeping in my own bed (co-sleeper) is my nighttime routine. this is a big deal because mommy and daddy aren’t “routine” kind of folks, but it’s all part of the jedi mind trick. (i’ll explain. read on.) this is what bedtime looks like for me:

• change into my jammies
• sit with mommy on her bed and read a bedtime story. i have so many stories to choose from because mommy has always loved and collected children’s books (and i’m not even counting the ones that she had when she was a kid). one of my favorites is “snoozers” by sandra boynton.
• turn off the lights and turn on twilight turtle (which, despite what auntie cindy would have you believe, is not a story about baby vampires)
• lie down in my bed and listen to mommy sing songs to me. she always sings “never gonna let you down” by surface and “in your smile” by na leo pilimehana. after that, it could be “loving you” by minnie ripperton, “here i go” by sugar babes, or any of a number of other old skool slow jamz. sometimes, i get disney princess songs. ewww. (mommy says that i would appreciate them more if i was a girl.)

this whole routine is typically takes about an hour.

so anyway, lemme tell you about twilight turtle. he is da bomb. by day, he is a stuffed toy that hangs out with my other stuffed animals. you’d think that he wouldn’t really get along with my lion, giraffe, elephant, and other jungle creatures, but he is such a cool guy that he doesn’t have a problem fitting right in. by night, he is not only a nightlight, but he also turns the room into a starry night sky. when i get older, mommy and daddy are going to teach me about orion, the big dipper, and the seven sisters from the comfort of my own bed!

the first time i saw the starlit “sky”, i was wide-eyed with wonderment — completely mesmerized. but now, when i see the stars, i know that it’s sleeptime. (that’s the jedi mind trick.) and even when i wake up in the middle of the night, mommy turns on the stars to help me relax and fall back asleep. twilight turtle rocks.

great feature for mommies and daddies: twilight turtle has a 45-minute auto-shutoff. (he also projects the constellation in 3 different colors, if you’re into that.) great tip for all my little ladies: if turtles aren’t your thing, you can get a twilight ladybug! she’s just as cool as twilight turtle, but not as fun to say.

twilight turtle by cloud b: (out of 5 )

happy 5 month birthday to me

things i like:

• rolling over (although i can roll both ways, i mostly roll from back to tummy so that i can practice crawling in place)
• baby aerobics
• sucking on my toes
• flying like superkyden and doing back flips (with mommy spotting me)
• sitting up (mommy and daddy make fun of me because i look like an orangutan, stabilizing myself with my fists on the floor)
• grabbing food out of mommy’s hand while she’s trying to eat
• interactive toys that make noise and/or flash lights when i pull/spin/press/tap them
• my exersaucers (that’s right, plural!)
• twilight turtle (product review forthcoming)

things i don’t like:

• sleeping by myself
• not having mommy in my field of vision