Christian had one last check up for his ear before his surgery. After his last appointment, they prescribed some kind of “tape” for him to wear all day, every day, that is supposed to help soften the tissue and prepare it for surgery. They checked on that and said everything is looking good. I asked him if he’s nervous…he said “no”, but was very hesitant, so he obviously is. It’s just an out-patient, completely non-invasive surgery, but I think anything like that makes you a little nervous. We’re just really praying that this FINALLY does the trick! We really didn’t do too much the rest of the night. I did the dishes, we ate some dinner, watched a little TV and just let the girls play. Like usual, I don’t think it’s going to be a very late night for us.
Sleeping Arrangements
So, when it comes to little ones, the sleeping arrangements are limitless. Bassinet, pack and play, right to the crib, in mom and dad’s room, in their own room, sleeping with mom and dad, and any combination of these options. Sleeping arrangements are also a pretty controversial topic. When it comes to co-sleeping, the danger and risks, along with the formation of bad habits, bring a lot of negative attention to the topic.
When we had Olivia, we took a stance that co-sleeping was NOT for us. It didn’t seem safe, our pediatrician was very against it, we did not want to encourage any hard to break habits later on, and, quite frankly, we did not want to give up “our bed”. Olivia slept in her bassinet, in our room once we got home from the hospital. In the VERY beginning, she wasn’t the best sleeper. She had to be passed out asleep before you put her down, otherwise she would wake up and would not go back to sleep easily. She started sleeping through the night (and I mean, 9-10 hours stretches) when she was 5-6 weeks old. By about 9-10 weeks old, we could lay her down, slightly awake, and she would fall asleep on her own. She quickly started outgrowing her bassinet, and we decided we wanted our room back (and we were finally starting to get over our fear of her sleeping), so when she turned 3 months old, we moved her into her crib, in her own room. It was a rough few nights…knowing she wasn’t right next to us, we couldn’t hear her every breath. We resisted the urges to check on her non-stop, and pretty quickly adjusted the new arrangements. I think she slept better without our noise, and we felt a little bit more at ease.
From that point on, Olivia went through stages. She’d usually sleep straight through the night, but for a few days in a row, every once in a while, she’d wake up needing a bottle. It was all survivable though (a little less as my pregnancy with Amelia moved along). This worked for us. And with that, we took our stance that co-sleeping was not for us.
Then…Amelia came along. And, we quickly realized that it wasn’t so much that co-sleeping wasn’t for US, but that it wasn’t for Olivia. Olivia didn’t need that. Olivia was a wonderful independent sleeper, she never needed that. Amelia, is NOT.
We started out the same as with Olivia, Amelia slept in the bassinet, in our room. We quickly became more lenient on her sleeping in our bed as the long, sleepless nights started piling up. She didn’t like being on her own. With time, I learned the wonderful art of side-lying nursing, so I could sleep while she nursed…she would then fall asleep, and there was no sense in getting up at that point. So, we adapted. It was working for her, which meant it worked for us. She is now 6+ months old…we just moved her from the bassinet to the pack and play (because it’s a little bigger), she still does not put herself to sleep and is still in our room. She we put her to bed in the pack and play, but if she wakes up during the night, I just bring her in bed with me.
So, we have experienced a wide range of the sleeping arrangement spectrum. And, in the end, I just don’t think there is a right or wrong. Every child is different, your relationship with every child will be different, and they all have their own needs. Olivia needed her independence, Amelia needs her comfort. So, while we were very hard-core non-co-sleepers, that has definitely changed!
I know we will be faced with quite a challenge in the next few months. We do crave OUR independence, and would love to have our room back to ourselves, but these are the sacrifices we make. Amelia has a wonderful, clean, welcoming crib awaiting her, but when she will use it, is truly an unknown. Not only are we faced with the transition from the pack and play and our room, to the crib in her room…but we are faced with putting the girls in the same room. That, I’m more afraid of. Right now, we don’t even have the energy to imagine how that transition is going to go.
Here’s Amelia, giving a little wave to the camera!
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