Books & Bed Routine & Milk

I vividly remember last January complaining at a party about the fact that I can't get Ivan to sit still to read him a book. He just wasn't interested. Apparently, even back then, when he was 11 months old, his peers were being read to, or so some moms claimed.

What "being read to" actually meant I didn't konw nor I still do. Back then Ivan was completely not interested in books, especially during bed time.

Since he's started walking at 14 months, it's just gotten worse. I can barely dry him off before he scuttles of the bed to run around back and forth between the rooms. Until two or so weeks ago when he started calming down on his own a bit and started to cuddle, I couldn't get him to slow down. Every time I'd try to hold him, he'd wiggle out to get back to running. Attempting to read a book to him, something I'd try on and off on numerous occasions, was completely out of question.

Apparently these other moms I had consulted would cuddle with their sons while he drank his milk (bottle or sippy cup not important) and read to him. When he was done with milk, mom would put him to bed. All components of this scenario have been a mission impossible for me: to get him to be still and cuddle, to read a book, to get him to finish his milk and put him to bed without the bottle.

But over the last few months, really over the summer, I've noticed that Ivan has started to take an interest in books. If I put him in the pack-and-play (which I dismantled a few weeks ago) or in his cribs with a few books, I notice that he'll flip through them. He also sometimes starts looking at books on his own and flipping through them. But still not during pre-bed time.

However, if the last week has been any indication, it seems that he's beginning to calm down a bit during pre-bed time and that he's no longer interested in sprinting back and forth from room to room. Instead, he's getting more interested in cuddling or sitting in my lap while drinking milk.

Tonight, he spent the whole time on the bed with me cuddling and giggling with me. I even read him a book by Sandra Boyton about going to bed. He even finished his milk. Then I managed to brush his teeth and put him to bed without the bottle. Well, I put him to bed and gave him Medic to cuddle. I also added some water to the bottle and left the bottle in the crib. As I was leaving the room, he was too busy talking to Medic to cry for milk. I haven't checked on him since and haven't heard him cry all night so I'm not sure whether he drank the water or left the bottle as is.

In any case, I consider this a slight feat on all fronts.

I hope I'm onto something here and that this change will last--the cuddling, calming down, reading, drinking milk in my lap and going to bed milk-less.