Mr. Sandman send me a dream...

I've been co-sleeping for past three months when out of no where I decide that I will have her sleep in her crib. I get random thoughts such as these in the middle of the night. I call them midnight reasonings. My husband knows to just go along with these crazy thoughts. He's a good man.
 I disassembled the co sleeper and hid it in the back of her closet- out of sight out of mind...

So, on Monday night I get her ready for bed- fix the bath, set her jammies (a onesie and her sleep sack) out and prepare for her last feeding. Along with the routine pre bedtime ritual I busted out extra blankets and draged our duvet onto the floor in her room. Big mistake. I did not sleep a wink. Nope not a single wink. One thing I can't believe we ever bought was a clock with a second hand. I got it so I would always know that the monitor is working. At about midnight I grabbed that darn tell-tale clock, removed the battery and hid it underneath the couch cushion in the living room. It drove me NUTS... She also woke up every hour to an hour and a half. Grrrrrrr. I vowed to never do that again. The next night I slept in my own bed in my own room with the monitor on. I learned to ignore most of her grunting and whines. I would only get up when I knew she was truly awake and hungry but not to the point where she was hysterical- beyond consoling.

I've been reading  The Sleep lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight... book. I have to admit it has frustrated me in the past to the point that I have thrown the book across the room, so my approach now is to only use ideas that I find would work for our situation. She doesn't mind sleeping in her crib, she just likes to be nursed to sleep. According to the book, and my mother, this is my fault and the author, Kim West, would call it a sleep crutch. Whatever... I guess I see their point. Either way I would recommend this book for expectant mothers especially first timers. I wish I had read it before hand so that I wouldn't have created such a downward spiral.

Let's talk about sleep aids. Not the drugs but the white noise tools. Cloud b products have really helped me when it comes to setting a sleep friendly environment. I use them only once at night while she's eating. Then the room dims and the music fades and she drifts off. I love that I get to hear the sound of the ocean through the monitor because it helps me fall asleep as well.

Needless, to say (but I'll say it anyway) my hands have been full, my eyes are blood shot and puffed up and yet I am all smiles. I am very proud of her progress and my decision. We finally have our room and bed back! Hopefully soon I will have a full nights sleep and a well rested baby... Fingers crossed.