Squish the New Baby and Read A Story

Bedtime has always been the hardest part of my day. By 7pm, I am spent and ready to kick back on the couch under my Snuggie. I have begged JD to take over this routine, but because I nursed until Beatrice was 15 months old, I was stuck with the exhausting bedtime ritual which goes something like this:

Bath
Lotion, jammies, diapers, hair, teeth
Play tea party or blocks for 30 minutes
85 stories
Lights out
Prayers
Sing songs
Rock rock
Bed

The back breaking bath is not so terrible. The endless loop of "Jesus Loves Me" and "Little Bunny Foo Foo" is bearable. The worst part is story time. Beatrice knows her books by name and is very picky about what we read on any given night. We fight about how many books we're going to read. Right now, we're at approximately 85. I don't think she'll be happy until we reach 100.

Do you want to know the worst part about story time with Beatrice? This:

Beatrice likes to crush the new baby (and me) by climbing on top of me and reading books on my belly. It is sweet, really. But as my belly grows, it HURTS! You're probably saying to yourself, read books in a chair in an upright position. We do, but after carrying a toddler all day, picking up our house, cooking dinner and bathing said toddler, this mama's back is shot. I lie down flat for the 30 minutes that she plays blocks or tea party to give my poor back a break. Something's got to give though, because after a few block towers she gets that crazy "squish the baby and read a story" look in her eye and comes over with books in tow to squish the baby and read a story.

Ouch.