Sure, I can handle getting 5-6 hours a night...sometimes even just 4. But in recent nights, the new trend has been to wake up every hour- like clockwork- crying for no reason. I can't begin to explain how awful that is. I wake up, rock her back to sleep and then just as I'm falling back asleep....she's awake again. I have no idea what's going on, but I sure hope it ends quickly.
This lack of sleep has forced us into the daunting task of transitioning her from our bedroom to the nursery. I want my bedroom back. It's amazing how such a small person has the ability to take over an entire room and this mommy needs a safe haven.
I was talking with some new mom friends the other day and we brought up the question of, "when did babies start sleeping in their parents' room anyways??" I think a lot of it has come about in recent years. I know I, as well as many other friends I've asked, was put in the crib in the nursery from the get go. I'm not looking to piss off any advocates of co-sleeping and whatnot, but now that I've lived through one, our next child will be happily welcomed home into the nursery and it's crib right away.
Because now, not only is Adly used to sleeping at arms length from us, but so are we. So moving her out is forcing us to cut the cord too. Having her in our room would be beneficial if I woke up and fed her right in bed....but I don't. No, I wake up, pick her up and carry her into the nursery to feed. It's all so ass backward I'm realizing as I write this.
For her bassinet in our room, we've been using the highly addictive Rock n' Play. This thing is fantastic for getting your newborn to sleep. It's on an incline AND it rocks. From what I've read, this invention is like crack for babies everywhere. Here's where it sucks: once baby gets used to sleeping on that incline....it's very difficult to get them to sleep flat on their backs- like in a crib.
So far, I've successfully achieved 3 thirty minute naps in the crib. Not too shabby you might think. That is, until I say she can sleep for 5-6 straight hours in the rock n play. Which one would you pick when you're running on next to nothing when it comes to sleep?!?
This weekend, my dad and Anita came into town, relieving us of our parental duties for an evening. After not sleeping more than a few hours in two days, I jumped at the chance to have a few cocktails. But I also decided to make that night the first night Adly would sleep in her own room- in the Rock n Play. Ill let you in on a secret: I was too scared to do it myself. This way, grandma and grandpa could be the mean ones, isolating her in her own room. I'm so smart! On top of that, I knew the cocktails would allow me to sleep soundly for at least a little while, instead of panicking over my baby being in another room and all the awful things that could happen to her.
Thankfully, she actually SLEPT. Which meant I did too- for a whole 5 hours! In fact, I actually woke up at 2:54am, before she did, panicking that something had happened to her since I hadn't heard her. Had I slept through all her cries?? Am I the worst mom ever?!? Is she alive?!
I stared at her on the monitor for a bit, and then like clockwork she woke up around 3:15 to eat. I could've ran in there, picked her up, swirled around and screamed from the mountaintops, I was so excited. My baby slept in her own room and for the first time in two nights even allowed me to sleep!! I was so proud of her, yet I missed her. Amazing how that can happen in a 900 sq ft apartment.
It's baby steps, but as of now she is headed towards making her way into the crib. Lets hope this transition is easier on her than it is on mommy!
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