A Night Off
Nicholas will be a month old tomorrow. Already. And ironically, he's still not even due for two more weeks.
Tonight, my dear hubby is taking baby duty. Which means that I get to sleep a full night without having to get up and do middle of the night feedings. Hallelujah! The past couple nights, my sweet little newborn has decided that he prefers sleeping with Momma to being in his lonely bassinet. Every time I put him in it (no matter how asleep he is), within a few minutes, he is crying out and grunting. Not a huge loud oh-my-gosh-I'm-dying-here cry but enough that I cannot go back to sleep. And being that I also have a 3 year old and a 5 year old to take care of all day long, not sleeping is not an option I like to choose. Not to mention, hubby has to get up and work a full workday so he needs his sleep too.
So begrudgingly, I pick Nicholas up, lie back down on the couch on my back, and awkwardly manage to go back to sleep until he wakes for his next feeding. After he finishes the bottle, I again attempt the bassinet. No such luck. I try the swing. No such luck. I imagine you can guess where he ends up?
I KNOW this is a dangerous habit to start. I know I'm creating a little monster that will not want to sleep by himself. But that doesn't stop me from taking the easy way out so I can get a few hours of sleep. And I have to admit... his sweet little self all curled up warm and toasty on my chest is a bit hard to resist. **In case you're freakin out thinking I'm going to roll over on him... rest assured... I'm a pretty light sleeper and don't move around a lot...**
SOOOOO anyways... this evening, hubby and I tried keeping him awake for a while hoping that he'll sleep well tonight. By himself, in his bassinet. We've both gotten pretty good at swaddling him tightly so he cannot flail his arms about. But if he moves and grunts enough, those arms eventually come free.
He does sleep on his own during the day... hopefully we'll get these nights figured out soon...
Tonight, my dear hubby is taking baby duty. Which means that I get to sleep a full night without having to get up and do middle of the night feedings. Hallelujah! The past couple nights, my sweet little newborn has decided that he prefers sleeping with Momma to being in his lonely bassinet. Every time I put him in it (no matter how asleep he is), within a few minutes, he is crying out and grunting. Not a huge loud oh-my-gosh-I'm-dying-here cry but enough that I cannot go back to sleep. And being that I also have a 3 year old and a 5 year old to take care of all day long, not sleeping is not an option I like to choose. Not to mention, hubby has to get up and work a full workday so he needs his sleep too.
So begrudgingly, I pick Nicholas up, lie back down on the couch on my back, and awkwardly manage to go back to sleep until he wakes for his next feeding. After he finishes the bottle, I again attempt the bassinet. No such luck. I try the swing. No such luck. I imagine you can guess where he ends up?
I KNOW this is a dangerous habit to start. I know I'm creating a little monster that will not want to sleep by himself. But that doesn't stop me from taking the easy way out so I can get a few hours of sleep. And I have to admit... his sweet little self all curled up warm and toasty on my chest is a bit hard to resist. **In case you're freakin out thinking I'm going to roll over on him... rest assured... I'm a pretty light sleeper and don't move around a lot...**
SOOOOO anyways... this evening, hubby and I tried keeping him awake for a while hoping that he'll sleep well tonight. By himself, in his bassinet. We've both gotten pretty good at swaddling him tightly so he cannot flail his arms about. But if he moves and grunts enough, those arms eventually come free.
He does sleep on his own during the day... hopefully we'll get these nights figured out soon...
posted by Anonymous at 10:28 PM
2 Comments:
What is it with nights? I remember them all to well. My babes slept with us most nights and now they all manage to sleep in their own beds. Sam is the only one who ever ventures in through the night. And to be honest, I can live with it. Here's to you getting some sleep!!!
Don't worry about setting dangerous precedents in terms of future behavior. Parents of newborns can - and must - be remarkably pragmatic just to get through the here and now.
When our munchkins were newborns, we used whatever techniques we could think of to get them to tuck in. If it preserved our sanity, it was fair game.
He's such a sweetie!
Post a Comment
<< Home