So, I was just reading my American Baby mag. when I quickly learned that I'm the worse Napping-Baby Momma around. It seems people actually lay their babies down while they are AWAKE and then the child quickly and sweetly falls asleep without a fuss. Why didn't anyone ever ask me if I was doing this type of sleep parenting when I was just a newbie mom? How come napping just doesn't seem to be the number one question you get when you're out and about with your adorable newborn? Seriously, let's talk about what's important rather than if I squatted or had an episiotomy during my kid's birth. Nah, I totally love birth stories so I wouldn't want to give that one up, but still, I would have loved some sleep advice as a new mother.
I've given birth to three kids, as of now, two with drugs and one without, oh and on the third, yep, I did squat. :) Alright then, now to sleeping. All three of my children have in some way ended up in my bed. I don't regret my decision to co-sleep, I mean come on, we are one of the few societies that actually don't do it. I wouldn't want to sleep alone if I was a baby, how can you blame them for thinking you're a crazy parent for laying them down in that cold, big, empty baby bed by themselves? I'd cry, too. But, again, going back, I would have liked for my kids to be independent sleepers, I just didn't realize rocking them to sleep could have been playing such a huge part in my battle.
This article actually didn't bash parents who co-slept, it simply mentioned that you lay your child down, awake, at certain intervals based on age. It was then that I got that happy, "awe" moment, shook my head, and realized where I'd gone wrong. :)
What about you? Do you co-sleep? Do you semi-co-sleep, where the little one climbs in bed with you early in the morning and you haven't even realized he/she is there until you get kicked the head or something? Or, does your kid independently sleep alone?
5 comments:
Hi! Stopping by for Friday Follow. Have a great weekend!
Kel
http://betweenthelines-kam.blogspot.com
My babies all slept in their bassinets and cribs. I figured that I was up enough with them in the night and I knew they would be safe:) I did fall asleep with them sometimes, though, when I laid them with me at naptime. And I almost never put them to bed awake...I was a rocker.
Yeah, Christine, I'm a rocker, too. :)
Liam sleeps in his crib in his room now. He was a TERRIBLE sleeper in our room but I just could not let it go for the longest time-- I felt like he should be with us. I did not feel safe sleep-sharing but I wanted him in the room.
Finally, when I was at the end of my rope and feeling completely exhausted... I put him in his crib one night and he slept for 4 hours straight! It was a miracle!! He had been getting up every 1.5-2 hours. I felt like a new woman!
Now, he will sleep as long as 6 hours (I can't let him because of his weight gain issues but the couple times that I have forgotten to set my alarm that is how long he goes).. and then he gets up every 2 hours after that. Around 6, Ryan and I go and get him and we all doze together in our bed for a couple more hours. I like it this way and would not mind it being how things go forever. I enjoy snuggling with a sleepy baby first thing in the morning.
Michelle, you are so lucky that he sleeps so well in his own bed. And, yep, I understand the baby cuddling in the morning.
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