Dear Nolan,

Some thoughts from your mother regarding sleep.

First, if you are cranky and mommy gives you Tylenol around 7:30 it is because she is afraid something hurts and she wants you to sleep. It is not meant to perk you up and send you dancing around the house. Tylenol may be withheld in the future if this becomes a regular outcome. For roughly 13 of the 17 months you have been alive, you have gone peacefully into your bed at 8pm. This was not simply coincidence or an accident. Your parents have actually put thought into your bedtime; an equation that involves the amount of sleep you need, the time you need to wake up and our own personal sanity. There is no need to start ‘testing’ the bedtime routine so see if it’s set. It is. We will win.

Finally, your parents provide some lovely food options between the hours of 5pm and 8pm. You are welcome (and encouraged) to eat whatever the family is eating, but we are also willing to provide any combination of waffles, sausage, eggs, yogurt, cereal, fruit, etc. Refusing to eat during these hours and then waking up hungry in the middle of the night is unacceptable. Our 3:30am rendezvous with a bowl of Cheerios, a dozen strawberries, three pieces of cheese and some yogurt will not be occurring on a regular basis.

On a side note, thank you for not trying any of this while we were trapped in a trailer together a few weeks ago.

Love,

Mom