# 0038: Rocking Babies

I love rocking my babies. I love to be able to rock them to sleep or calm them down when they're worked up. 
Honestly my girl has been my favorite to rock. The boys were really more interested in the food. I could rock her all day long because she was the only one at the time. We would "rock 'n' read" after lunch and "rock, read-n, sing" before bed. 
I loved rocking the girl to sleep... until she got too big to rock to sleep. I'd think she was asleep, lay her down and those big eyes would pop open. That's when we had to start some sleep training. Around 9 months or so we had to let her cry it out... sort of. We kept our rockin' routine, then we checked in on her every 10-15 minutes and basically did everything but pick her up again. I even sat, holding her little fingers through the slats of her crib singing every verse of "Jesus Loves Me" I knew about 76 times each. I wanted to pick her up and rock her, but it just got to where she wouldn't rock to sleep anymore. We kept our routine except for the laying-her-down-completely-asleep part. She had to learn to get herself to sleep. You never know about those rascals. It was a different story with the boy and I know it will be different with the new boy, too.
I know there's a blog post going around right now about all the contradictions in baby sleep advice from the experts. I'm blessed to have my own panel of experts, of course; "The Grandmas". 
I'm not sure what all the expert books say, but I have yet to meet a grandma- anybody's grandma of any age that wasn't ready and willin' to drop everything for a chance to rock a baby. They all get that same sweet, longing look on their faces recalling the babies they've rocked. That tells me something. That tells me that rocking babies is meaningful (to say the least) for years to come for the babies and the mamas. It's bonding. It's memorable. It's something you don't want to miss out on! 
I'm all for the parenting books, but rocking babies just seems like basic common sense; a natural, motherly thing to do at least every once in awhile. I love the memories I have of rocking my babies. I even have memories of being rocked myself by both grandmas. I remember singing "This Little Light of Mine" while being rocked back and forth. 
This is the song that was going through my head while writing this post:

I'll do everything I can to make you proud to be my man 
And I'll fulfill all your fantasies
I guess we're promising a lot, but for now it's all we've got 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Rockin' chairs, rockin' babies, rock-a-bye, rock of ages 
Side by side we'll be together always 
And if you'll hold me tight when you love me 
That's all I'll ask of you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

I'll be your friend, I'll be your lover 
Until the end, there'll be no other 
'Cause my heart has only room for one 
Yes, I'll always love you, and I'll always be here for you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Rockin' chairs, rockin' babies, rock-a-bye, rock of ages 
Side by side we'll be together always 
And if you'll hold me tight when you love me 
That's all I'll ask of you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Rockin' chairs, rockin' babies, rock-a-bye, rock of ages 
Side by side, we'll be together always 
And, yes, I'll always love you and I'll always be here for you 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years, and I'll be here 
And I'll stand by you thru our rockin' years 

Thru our rockin' years 

Yep, that's "Rockin' Years" (Dolly Parton with Ricky Van Shelton from their albums Eagle When She Flies and Backroads, respectively)