I am not sure if this is going to be temporary or not but we moved Lucy to her crib at night. Last night was her third night sleeping in it through the night. Every night I have cried because I miss having her right next to me. She doesn't seem to mind being in her crib as far as I can tell. Lucy is used to sleeping in it during her nap times but I just HATE not having her next to me during the night. I miss waking up and seeing her sleeping peacefully next to me or seeing her raise her head and look at me and smile. I get choked up just thinking about it. I know this isn't any situation that has to be permanent but I also don't want to be changing my mind back and forth and moving her from one bed to the next since it is not fair to her. So far though she seems to be sleeping better and so do I...(I think). If she wakes during the night and wants to play for an hour then she can and I can't hear her nearly as well as having her right next to me so there is a better chance of me getting more sleep if she is refusing to sleep. last night though she slept after her 12:30am feeding until 6:15am. I woke up and was shocked! I even asked Dh if he had heard her at all during the night because I never did. I guess she must have just been very tired from a day of just having cat naps but still I feel GREAT this morning after having that much sleep in one night.
I am not sure if we're going to keep her in her crib or not but at the moment it seems to be working.
I have so many mixed feelings about having her sleep in the crib away from me. Tell me I am not crazy but I keep thinking what if this is the only baby I am ever able to have and now this phase is over and I will never have it again... After dealing with infertility I feel like I am full of "what if's". Like what if this is going to be the last time for this or that, etc. Does anyone else ever think this way. I guess that is why I am telling myself it is not permanent her sleeping in her crib so that if I just can't handle it then I'll move her back next to me at night.
On a lighter note Lucy is getting so big and changing so much. She is about 5 1/2 months now and weighs about 20 Ibs.! I am still only nursing her and will probably do so for the next couple of months since we both love it so much. Yesterday morning Dh picked her up out of her crib and brought her to bed with us in the morning while I was still waking up. Lucy reached out and put her hands on both our faces. It was so precious to see her explore our faces with her chubby hands. Oh my goodness I just love her so much!
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I moved Lucy back to my room last night and she woke up to play again only an hour and half after nursing. She was up for an hour.I moved her to her crib after that and she slept really well. Could the problem be that she sleeps better in her crib? Her co-sleep is MUCH firmer...Is it because her nursery is darker and my room is a bit brighter, or can she smell that I am there next to her and that wakes her up? I am pulling my hair out over this because I want to do attachment parenting with her but were both not sleeping as well side by side right now...UGH!
I totally get your "this might me my last time" with everything! I do that too! I love every stage and dont' want it to end! With the sleeping, obviously I don't nurse but it could be that her crib is more comfortable or that she smells you and that makes her want to nurse. I guess you could test the theory of it being the light in your room by moving her crib into your bedroom and see what she does, that's alot of trouble though. Have you thought of padding the mattress in her co sleeping a bit? I have some "egg cartons" in Alana's pack and play to make the mattress softer.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say you're crazy to be thinking in terms of "the last time for this, that, or the other". Not if you think she's your last. I've been doing it with Kate because I know she will be our only child. I think they key is to look forward rather than back. Look ahead to the milestones experiences that will be coming up.
ReplyDeleteWe moved Kate to her crib at night in December. Before that, I stayed up with her in the living room through the night. She didn't sleep much, and when she did, it was in the swing or in my lap. While I truly appreciated the extra sleep, I missed being up at night with her.I still do at times, but I don't think about it so much because I'm busy being amazed at how she's developing and I can't wait to see what else she'll do.
God willing Lucy will be the first of many babies I hope to have whether naturally or by adoption. I guess I should just try to do what is best for her to sleep at night rather than worrying about my own feelings. I can't help but think though that she would want to sleep next to me too though. Maybe I will try the egg carton idea :)
ReplyDeleteit does make it softer, I pull the fitted sheet over the egg cartons to hold them secure. I have two under her sheet!
ReplyDeleteA softer surface will definitely help. E refused to sleep in his portable crib when we were up at my parents unless it had the egg crate cushioning in it. I understand what you are feeling about Lucy maybe being your only one, but at the same time, sleep is so important! I know I'm a zombie without it! :)
ReplyDeleteI understand your dilemma one hundred percent!!!! I'm not ready to move Abigail away. I want her with me 24/7! We've really embraced the attachment style parenting, too, but we're not breastfeeding (adoption) so don't have that to contend with. Abigail sleeps really well at night. How is she waking up and playing? Is she swaddled?? Perhaps that would help? We stopped swaddling Abigail at Christmas, and then started again just this week and it has brought her HOURS of more sleep. It's amazing!
ReplyDeleteI understand...H slept in her crib from 7-midnight and now I'm wondering if I should feed her for her pm feed and put her back in....ahhhh my baby!!!! I wanna cosleep! hahaha
ReplyDeleteI didn't respond to your last post, but we have been undergoing a sleep revolution in our home with Sarah too. We sort of subscribe to the whole AP thing too. Our first (adopted at 12mos) co-slept with us and we'd lie down with him for hours every night until he fell asleep. It was exhausting. Our second (adopted at 6mos) started our co-sleeping but we discovered quickly, and much to our surprise, that he preferred his own sleep space. Imagine that!
ReplyDeleteWith Sarah, we started her out with just naps in her crib and then only the first few hours of the night but lately she's been sleeping most of the night away from us in her own crib. She sleeps better and longer when we're not there. I know it flies in the face of the AP approach, but our goal is to meet our children where they are at. I've been nursing her (with a supplementer) but when she's done, I just move her into her crib and she doesn't utter a complaint.
It so hard to sleep so far from her, but sleep is an important thing...a gift even. You can still practice AP with her during the day and pull her into bed with you at night to nurse. Remember, AP is not an all or nothing approach. :)
It is a hard transition and I know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteBella was a horribly light sleeper (and still is) and would wake up at the slightest sound, so we had to move her into her crib at 9 weeks old. It was very sad. I actually didn't sleep well for a few nights because I missed her being so close to me. I would lay awake at night thinking, "I hope she wakes up soon so I can hold her close to me." She actually went from sleeping 1-2 hours at a time to sleeping 4 hours at a time. Then, all of the sudden she was a happy baby while she was awake. I had more energy and was able to "wear her" around while I got stuff done around the house during the day, rather than just sit around exhausted all the time from no sleep. Sleep is important for both Mama and baby and it will make parenting so much sweeter!
I would just read Lucy's cues for the next few weeks and see if she is sleeping better. If not, you can always bring her back into your bed. And then, if that doesn't help either, you can move her back to her crib. Don't feel like you have to pick one or the other right now. Do what works for your family!