always stay my baby

With the demands of a new baby and also babysitting a second baby, Elijah kind of gets the short end of the stick most days. By the end of the day my nerves {and patience} are totally shot and I'm craving to just get in my pajamas and binge on Netflix. 

Lately when putting Elijah to bed, he always asks if I can sleep with him for a little bit. 

Usually Anneli is crying to be fed or when Adam was gone late studying most nights I just wanted to go detox by emotions before I went to bed so I would tell him I couldn't right then and just tickle his back again. 

It kind of hit me in a "I'm a terrible mom" sort of way when I realized that my poor boy, after his own hard and stressful day of his mom caring for other babies, just needed some of love and attention from his mommy at the end of the day. 

So I've tried really hard to say YES each night when Elijah asks for more time. 

We cuddle, 

we tell stories, 

we sing lullabies, 

 I tickle his arm, face, and back... 

And we reconnect after a long day of demands & time-outs. 

Though I'd like to say it's made a huge difference in his behavior during the day, 

that all of a sudden he listens and obeys like a little angel after getting extra cuddles in. 

But it has made a huge difference in both of our attitudes and patience levels. 

He knows I love him even when he disobeyed. 

And I know he loves me even when he sticks his tongue out and refuses to put his shoes away. 

And when I'm busy feeding babies, I think he knows he's not forgotten,

that at the end of the day I'm still his mommy too and he's still my sweet baby Elijah,

forever & always.