Does anybody know why babies are particularly fussy and unhappy before going to bed at night? Why is falling asleep so much more difficult at this particular time?
Klara needs me to run – not to walk but actually run – for about 15-20 minutes while clutching her to my chest before she dozes off at 11 pm. But the rest of the times she falls asleep, she needs nothing of the kind.
Also, while I’m on baby news, Klara gouged her cheek with a fingernail (she hates mittens, socks and hats as much as I do) and left a big bleeding scratch mark. But I put some breast milk on the scratch and it healed, scabbed, and the scab fell off within 24 hours. It’s a miracle!
Clarissa's Blog 
I used to have to dance around the living room to country music (had to be country music, rock-a-billy, to be specific) with my kid before she would sleep. Around 12 weeks, she finally got over it.
I did research, of course. (Am I not an academic?) Everyone had a different explanation. It boiled down to “apparently this is common with infants and we have no idea why.” Though this was some years ago — maybe they know now?
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I had to have rock-a-billy music, Elvis Presley, or other very early rock and roll. I have a really good memory for very early childhood and claim to be able to remember this. Night is long and it is a passage to another day. You have to get into a downright joyous mood to decide to forget the mysteries of the universe, give in and join them to sleep through it rather than stay up and watch what the night might do.
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This is a very profound explanation.
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From memory!
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I’ve noticed that with three of my nieces (the oldest is now 16, the youngest is nearly a year old): they would raise a ruckus when they were tired and about to go to sleep. It was as if they were fighting it. I’ve never understood why that happens, but it seemed to go away after they turned two years old.
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It has to do with being too tired; something about being too tired ironically prevents small children from doing what they need, which is resting (when you are too wound up, it’s hard to unwind, something like that). My younger two kids still have a bout of running around and fighting and yelling at bathtime (before bedtime), but then they go to bed and fall asleep easily. The youngest one sometimes will throw a mad fit mid-afternoon (needs a nap but doesn’t want to nap and protests being put to bed for it); we know to ignore him, and he’ll eventually settle down in an armchair or a sofa or even floor and fall fast asleep.
I find that my kids are endlessly fascinating.
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