I have talking to lots of friends that have babies and one of the topics that always comes up is sleep. Mostly not getting enough of it. Emma is now sleeping from 8-7 at night and taking 4 hours of daytime naps but all was not always well in baby land. Emma was and still is a very easy baby but had issues with sleeping at night. I remember the feeling of hearing her cries many times during the night and stumbling into her room angry that she had woken me up once again only to be suprised that my feelings of anger quickly melted away once I saw her panicked face and cuddled with her warm body.
One of the "bad habits" that John and I got into was brining Emma into bed with us whenever she was having a hard time going to sleep. She normally calmed quickly and would sleep soundly. She figured out quickly that she didn't want to sleep in a cold crib alone when she could be tucked between her two favorite people for the night, nice and warm (and right next to food whenever she needed it). Sometime during the last year we put a stop to this routine. We decided that Emma needed to learn to sleep in her crib by herself and endured some nights of crying to get the result we were looking for....a baby that put herself to sleep and slept through the night in her crib.
Now John and I try to get Emma to sleep with us. Don't get me wrong, we love out 8 hours straight of sleep, but we miss our little heater sleeping between us more than we missed our sleep when she was there. Emma has always been a cuddler and still is but is now more comfortable sleeping in her own crib than between mom and dad. In the last couple of weeks we first tried brining her to bed with us when she was awake, but she was too excited to go to sleep. Then we tried transfering her in a dead sleep from her crib to our bed, but she woke up and was not happy we had disturbed her......so I think that our days of sleeping with our sweet little girl are at an end..at least until the monsters start to show up under her bed...
To all of you moms that are wishing that your baby would just go to sleep and stay asleep, it will come, be patient. Enjoy every cuddle and nap that you "have" to take with your needy newborn because too quickly they don't need this anymore and you think back on those naps with fond memories....
The Ministry of Food Preparation
6 years ago
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5 comments:
Isn't it so true that when you want to cuddle and think, oh but they're crying and maybe I'll bring them to bed and they'll fall asleep with me in my arms...and they totally monkey around.
It's great to be able to do this parenting thing a second time to simply do what works best for everyone and not be hung up on theories or what everyone else says (ya know the do's and don't's). Veronica got over being sick and she was all cuddly--it was kind of nice to have her be still to let me hold her.
Sarah, all I can say is "ditto".
My little one is a stubborn one, and I had to endure several nights of 'crying' for that 8 hours of sleep. And once I have it, bam, she decides she would rather wake up instead. :) It is so funny how two kids (even in the same family can be so different!) Jacob was a sound sleeper at 6 months and never more a worry unless he was sick. Natalee on the other hand. Well she is lovingly stubborn. But that just keeps her my baby a bit longer!
Good to hear Sarah. I am sure you happened upon my blog and read my sleepy post. Things are already improving. I am trying to get over my "to do" list and treasure the time I have with Ayla while she is still so cuddly. She naps in her swing now for a good one to two hours. I read a book that insisted on motionless sleep, but then read another that you need to simulate the motion in the womb for good sleep, ugg! I am now finding confidence in my own intuition. This is thanks to God and the support and advise I get from you veteran moms.
Good reminder. Sniff, sniff! Looking forward to seeing y'all next weekend!
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