I am quickly realizing that I made a HUGE rookie mistake. I has been awhile since I've had a baby to hold and I can't seem to get enough of it. Ms. A spends most of her time in my arms and it's becoming a bit of a problem. Don't get me wrong, you can never hold your little ones too much. However, my little one refuses to sleep on a hard surface and it's all my fault. You see, my husband is a light sleeper and my daughter is an incredibly loud, grunty sleeper. The two don't mix well, which is why I've been sleeping on the couch with our little one. It started the first day we came home from the hospital and I can't seem to break the routine.
It usually starts with me curling up in the corner of the couch with her swaddled in my arms. This peaceful looking angel is hard to put down. I tend to fall asleep while watching TV and wake to her grunting noises...signifying that she wants to be fed. I get up, change her diaper, feed her, and then we curl back up for another 3-4 hours before we repeat the routine. We have a great system and I'm pretty refreshed in the mornings because of it.
Well, I know that I need to break this routine so that she can start sleeping in her crib like a 'big girl'. So today, I laid her down in her crib whenever she fell asleep in my arms. Her arms would quickly shoot up to the sides of her head. I'd rub her belly and quietly walk out of the room. I barely made it down the stairs before I heard the screaming. I waited for a bit and the screams became maniacal. I carefully picked her up, only to watch her eyes roll back into her head. Less than 2 minutes later and she was sound asleep. I gently laid her back down again....eyes popped open and her lip began to stick out. This happened all day long. It looks like my stubborn genes didn't fall far from the tree. This is going to be a hard routine/habit to break. Let's just hope that I can tap into my stubborn streak and wait out her cries before I come to the rescue. Time to be strong!
Sweet angel girl. You are right, you can't ever hold her too much, but it's that fine line of balance. Love your reasoning: stubborn streak. Good luck - just wondering, we were big on swaddling our girls to help them feel snug as bugs. Worth a try?
ReplyDeleteIf I had a baby that was that beautiful, I would have a very hard time putting her down too! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteShe is adorable. She is small. I'll share a secret. When my third one was born, I let go of the notion of what should be. I had her bed next to our bed, it was easy to take her for feeding, sometimes snuggle a bit longer, then put her back, and still hold her hand. My husband got surprisingly easily used to it, because the baby was content and didn't make much noise. The youngest stayed with us for a long time before moving to her own room. Now she is 8. strong and independent. I know you will read and hear different things on what to do. Go with your heart.
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