like sleep 'training' and my angelic toddler.
So we never quite made it to CIO, but we've found a compromise which works well for us. And I do hope it gives any co-sleepers hope because the transition from co-sleeping to her own crib for us was really easy. We co-slept until 17 months primarily because it was easiest for breastfeeding and also for traveling (the fusspot had no trouble falling asleep in a new hotel room, the floor of an airport, etc.) but also because it's part of JD's culture. Which means that neither of us was super-enthusiastic about ousting the baby, but our bedroom in NYC is particularly not baby-friendly and we also needed a little more couple time.
So around 17 months we ousted the baby. We established a clear (but honestly under 5 minute) bedtime routine which consists of me starting her bedtime CD (currently this American Lullaby CD and I love it!), changing her diaper and putting on pjs, and then me sitting in our nursing chair. The fusspot then toddles over the nursing chair, we nurse for about 20 minutes and I put her into her crib. She has a sip of water (I know nursing is less bad for teeth than bottles, but I still worry about cavities) and then I turn off the light and ... sit in the armchair and read blogs until she falls asleep. Seriously, it's brilliant. I get a good half hour to detox after the day, plenty of time to read IF blogs, craft blogs, and celebrity news online and she lies in bed and watches me and gradually falls asleep. As long as there is an adult in the room (and yes it works with JD or a babysitter, which is a HUGE plus) the fusspot doesn't cry. She does meltdown if I leave, even temporarily (which happens more and more often as I run to the bathroom) but as long as she's not alone she's pretty content. If often takes as little as 10 minutes for her to fall asleep, and never more than 45. If she stands up, we offer her a sippy cup of water but that's it. She knows that she's not coming out of the crib, and so she doesn't really try.
I had heard endless horror stories about how co-sleeping babies never sleep alone, so it's nice to know that the fusspot is happy to sleep alone as long as she has company to fall asleep. And both of us have been sleeping MUCH better. She sometimes (ok, occasionally) sleeps through the night, but usually is up just once or twice (often around midnight which I don't really count because I'm still up, and then around 5). And -I- have been sleeping through the night since JD handles the late night wake-ups when he is home nowadays.
Thank you SO much for your kind comments. Just knowing that this exhaustion is normal and hopefully temporary makes me feel endlessly better.
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5 comments:
Yay for sleep!!! Pumpkin is getting to the point where she is hit ir miss going to bed. Most nights it's a blissful routine- bath, pjs, bottle & story while her cd plays then bed. She's slowly self weaning the nighttime bottle (which is great!) but on top of cutting a few molars & possibly a canine- she has 2 year old sized meltdowns on occasion. Which sucks- but I tell myself that we'll all just get through it.
I am amazed that the fusspot will stay in her crib as long as she just has company! What a good girl- pumpkin is more likely to melt down if I linger in my goodnights!
Awesome! Yay for that! :-D I wonder if it would work for the twins... sans cribs.
Wow, I'm impressed!
I'm sorry I didn't feel like commenting on your previous post but I'm glad so many others did. Reassurance is nice sometimes. I hope you're taking care of yourself in the heat; I thought of you all day yesterday. Actually,I think of you all the time because I canNOT imagine going through all this while having a little one to care for at the same time. Make sure you give yourself credit for that!
P.S. Thanks for the nausea tips. I can't do candied ginger but saltines and giger ale are usually helpful. Also, Whole Foods' gingersnaps help some as well. I just wish the solutions weren't full of sugar, sugar, sugar.
I am so thoroughly jealous. We kicked E out of bed at 13 months (in March), and she's still waking up every two hours at night. Worse, when she wakes up at night, only Mommy will do -- if The Boy tries to help out, she throws ridiculous tantrums until I come in and nurse her. Usually, she gets her way because god forbid she wake up M, then we'll never get back to sleep and I'll have a grumpy preschooler in the morning, to boot. I'm so tired at this point that I can barely speak in full sentences.
Yay for sleep! It's funny how that is just a constant battle, no matter how you sleep. . . co/crib/whatever.
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