‘Just follow the routine and he will have a good night’s sleep,’ my wife says as she drops a little kiss on my left cheek.

She is going out of town on her company’s assignment. It is the first time she is going to stay away from our love’s outcome and also the first that I will have to manage the baby all alone. I have taken a very detailed course on babysitting from my wife, and therefore I am confident that I will not mess anything up and both I and my baby will have a good night.

The clock shows 8 pm when my wife leaves. She has already feed the baby, so my job for tonight is only to arrange him a nice sleep. I sit down on the sofa with little Arjun in my lap. He reaches out to my face and squeezes my nose. I make a fake face and he smiles.

I feel like tickling him and making him laugh hard. But home-minister (Yes, I am talking about my wife) had strictly warned against it. According to her, I shouldn’t excite up the baby before sleep. Instead I should slowly induce sleepiness in him.

‘Sleep time,’ I announce to him. ‘Let’s have a bath,’ I take him to his tiny bathtub and slowly allow him to settle down inside it. He seems to like the warmth of the water and squeaks a little. 'I give him a warm bath everyday,' my wife had said. 'It not only keeps him clean and healthy but also indicates it to him that sleep time is near,'

I think my wife is pretty clever. She knows how to manipulate a good sleep. I pull Arjun out of the water and he lets out a cute yawn. I dry him up and take him to the bed and gently drop him between his pillows, above which he cannot role over. I make him wear new diapers which will keep him dry and peaceful all night.

I dim the lights. 'Do not immediately switch off the lights. Arjun might get scared. Instead dim them and he will get accustomed with the darkness,'  I remember my wife's word. Wife had also instructed me to sing a lullaby, which I think is a terrible idea. If I starts to sing, the baby along with the whole neighbourhood will start crying. Therefore, I switch on the audio player with some calm and slow instrumental pieces. The music seems to work, because the baby lets out another yawn.


 I lay down near him and put my index finger in his hand, which he immediately holds tightly. 'Let's pray Arjun,' I said to him. 'Thank God for your life, thank God for your food, thank God for your parents.' I do not know if he understands my words or not, but he closes his eyes and let out another yawn.

A few minutes later he dozes off.
_____________________________________________________________________

The baby in this post was kept dry by Pampers.