Ave Maria...

At night we say our family rosary and much of the time Sadie seems to be trying to stay up to listen to the prayers. More than half the time she makes it and then fusses in her bed when we're done praying and it's time for sleep. Two nights ago I stumbled upon something inadvertently that puts her to sleep, and I'm really, really, really shocked at how well it works.

The first night we had finished all of our prayers and Daddy had left to go get ready for work. Sadie was still fussing and will usually fuss for a half hour to an hour trying to go to sleep on her own. During Lent a few years ago I memorized a bunch of the prayers tht I was learning as a new Catholic, in both Latin and English. So as Sadie fussed I decided to say a decade of the rosary in Latin. It was met with immediate silence.

In the dim light I could see her eyes closed peacefully after one pater noster and three ave maria's. I wondered if it was a fluke and tried it again last night. The exact same thing happened.

I still wasn't completely convinced though, so I tried it out today during nap time. She was fussing and resisting and pointing at her dolls and trying to convince me that she wasn't all that tired (although she'd had three tantrums in the previous ten minutes).

I didn't think of the rosary right away. I started by singing five lullabyes. She pointed at her dolls again. I said an our father in English. Her eyes were wide. And then I switched over. Before I'd completed the third ave maria her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep!

I don't know why this works, but I'm thrilled to find something that does! This is making life much easier and making for a better rested baby!