Sleeping
We have had a random mix of sleeping and cosleeping in our house since we've had Mina.
Before she was born we rearranged things in the house so that there was room for a small travel-sized pack n play next to the bed on my side, figuring I'd nurse her and then put her back down to sleep. Real life doesn't always mimic imagined life with an infant. She was a tired eater, and would nurse for a bit before falling asleep on me. She was basically eating all of the time, for weeks. For the first couple of weeks we slept with her on the couches in our living room, Brian taking care of her in those rare times I wasn't nursing.
When Brian was back at work full time at the 2 week mark, I moved up to the bedroom. I kept her in the bed and figured out the nursing in bed technique (this took some time, particularly on one side that as more difficult to get her latched on). It was a hard, lonely couple of months. We slept this way until I went back to work at 12 weeks. Brian slept in the den and was fully rested. I nursed Mina through the night (every hour or so) and changed her on a pad on the bed when she was messy. Thinking back now though, I miss how that little snuggle baby fit in the crook of my body. Switching breasts was tough. At first I would just flip my head from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed, keeping her in the middle. I tried to prop her up on a pillow and nurse the other side over the top of my body, but that was just awkward. Eventually I just got a bed rail for the outside of the bed, so I'd just move her from side to side.
Once Brian came back to the bed, we transitioned to putting her down in the cosleeper (we had moved the travel pack n play and bought a cosleeper) to sleep at first. We'd have a couple of glorious hours without a baby to care for. We'd tiptoe into the room to go to sleep, and once she awoke for that first night feeding, she'd come into the bed. Cosleeper on the side, Mom there to feed, baby in the middle or between me and the cosleeper, and Dad on the other side. We slept on top of the bed with throw blankets over us, so that Mina was safe of any suffocation hazards. She was usually curled up in the crook of my body. We made it work. Brian could change her mid night and I could use the bathroom. We were sleeping for multiple hour chunks at a time. There were times where she'd start stirring and I'd notice, and stick her on a boob, and Brian didn't even wake up.
It got to the point where it was clear that she was sleeping better out of the bed. She spent more time in her room, in her crib. We sold the cosleeper and put a rail on the side of the bed. We would start the night putting her in her room initially, and when she'd wake, to our bed. Sometimes I'd just nurse her in the rocker and put her back in the crib. It would all depend on how soon it was until wakeup time, or how well she was eating. She became a better nurser as she got older, eating more at a session and being able to sleep for longer.
I weaned her off feedings through the night, and she'd only have one to go to bed and then one when waking (also one when I first got home from work with her). Then only one to go to bed. Then she was all bottle all the time. More time in her bed, less in ours. She'd still have cranky nights where she was teething or sick and would come to bed with us, but those grew fewer and fewer. She told us without words, that she wanted to be in her own bed. We'd snuggle/rock in her room and put her down in bed again.
She walked at 9 months, and climbed out of the crib at 16. We took the front off but she was jumping on the bed, pulling on the tall crib sides and they were starting to warp in. So we bought the toddler bed (crib sized mattress). We've had that for around 6 months. She is such a monkey, that she climbs in and out and in and out and in and out, over the side rails, rather than the open foot of the bed. She still has tought nights, but wants us to be with her in her room, while she is in her bed. We'd sit next to the bed or just lay on the floor. For a while we had a nest of blankets and a camping mattress there.
The crawling and us wanting to snuggle sometimes lead us last weekend to buy a twin mattress and put it on the floor. She can climb off and on, but she won't fall in a tired stupor while climbing over wooden rails. She has a nice fun nest for her stuffed animals. It opens up the room hugely (we rearranged the furniture). And WE can snuggle easily with her in her own bed, if need be.
Most nights she sleeps through. Sometimes she wakes up at 4:00 crying for one of us. That parent goes in, puts her blanket on her, and snuggles with her on the bed until she wants to get up (usually between 5-6, though we had a couple of glorious mornings where I went in at 4 and she slept snuggled to me until almost 7).
It is a process. We are selling the toddler bed to someone (via Craigslist) tomorrow. I'll be keeping my eyes open for an actual low frame for her. For now, we have a fun comfy nest of blankets and stuffed animals (her favorite thing evah) on the floor to play in.
It is amazing seeing this kid grow. She will be 2 next Friday.
(Now, naps are another story entirely. She always naps at daycare, very well. With us it is a crapshoot. She always sleeps in the car. Sometimes well at home, sometimes not at all, though we always have quiet time in her room at naptime. She has been so early to do things: roll, crawl, walk, climb, talk. I wonder if she will also be early to drop the nap)
Before she was born we rearranged things in the house so that there was room for a small travel-sized pack n play next to the bed on my side, figuring I'd nurse her and then put her back down to sleep. Real life doesn't always mimic imagined life with an infant. She was a tired eater, and would nurse for a bit before falling asleep on me. She was basically eating all of the time, for weeks. For the first couple of weeks we slept with her on the couches in our living room, Brian taking care of her in those rare times I wasn't nursing.
When Brian was back at work full time at the 2 week mark, I moved up to the bedroom. I kept her in the bed and figured out the nursing in bed technique (this took some time, particularly on one side that as more difficult to get her latched on). It was a hard, lonely couple of months. We slept this way until I went back to work at 12 weeks. Brian slept in the den and was fully rested. I nursed Mina through the night (every hour or so) and changed her on a pad on the bed when she was messy. Thinking back now though, I miss how that little snuggle baby fit in the crook of my body. Switching breasts was tough. At first I would just flip my head from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed, keeping her in the middle. I tried to prop her up on a pillow and nurse the other side over the top of my body, but that was just awkward. Eventually I just got a bed rail for the outside of the bed, so I'd just move her from side to side.
Once Brian came back to the bed, we transitioned to putting her down in the cosleeper (we had moved the travel pack n play and bought a cosleeper) to sleep at first. We'd have a couple of glorious hours without a baby to care for. We'd tiptoe into the room to go to sleep, and once she awoke for that first night feeding, she'd come into the bed. Cosleeper on the side, Mom there to feed, baby in the middle or between me and the cosleeper, and Dad on the other side. We slept on top of the bed with throw blankets over us, so that Mina was safe of any suffocation hazards. She was usually curled up in the crook of my body. We made it work. Brian could change her mid night and I could use the bathroom. We were sleeping for multiple hour chunks at a time. There were times where she'd start stirring and I'd notice, and stick her on a boob, and Brian didn't even wake up.
It got to the point where it was clear that she was sleeping better out of the bed. She spent more time in her room, in her crib. We sold the cosleeper and put a rail on the side of the bed. We would start the night putting her in her room initially, and when she'd wake, to our bed. Sometimes I'd just nurse her in the rocker and put her back in the crib. It would all depend on how soon it was until wakeup time, or how well she was eating. She became a better nurser as she got older, eating more at a session and being able to sleep for longer.
I weaned her off feedings through the night, and she'd only have one to go to bed and then one when waking (also one when I first got home from work with her). Then only one to go to bed. Then she was all bottle all the time. More time in her bed, less in ours. She'd still have cranky nights where she was teething or sick and would come to bed with us, but those grew fewer and fewer. She told us without words, that she wanted to be in her own bed. We'd snuggle/rock in her room and put her down in bed again.
She walked at 9 months, and climbed out of the crib at 16. We took the front off but she was jumping on the bed, pulling on the tall crib sides and they were starting to warp in. So we bought the toddler bed (crib sized mattress). We've had that for around 6 months. She is such a monkey, that she climbs in and out and in and out and in and out, over the side rails, rather than the open foot of the bed. She still has tought nights, but wants us to be with her in her room, while she is in her bed. We'd sit next to the bed or just lay on the floor. For a while we had a nest of blankets and a camping mattress there.
The crawling and us wanting to snuggle sometimes lead us last weekend to buy a twin mattress and put it on the floor. She can climb off and on, but she won't fall in a tired stupor while climbing over wooden rails. She has a nice fun nest for her stuffed animals. It opens up the room hugely (we rearranged the furniture). And WE can snuggle easily with her in her own bed, if need be.
Most nights she sleeps through. Sometimes she wakes up at 4:00 crying for one of us. That parent goes in, puts her blanket on her, and snuggles with her on the bed until she wants to get up (usually between 5-6, though we had a couple of glorious mornings where I went in at 4 and she slept snuggled to me until almost 7).
It is a process. We are selling the toddler bed to someone (via Craigslist) tomorrow. I'll be keeping my eyes open for an actual low frame for her. For now, we have a fun comfy nest of blankets and stuffed animals (her favorite thing evah) on the floor to play in.
It is amazing seeing this kid grow. She will be 2 next Friday.
(Now, naps are another story entirely. She always naps at daycare, very well. With us it is a crapshoot. She always sleeps in the car. Sometimes well at home, sometimes not at all, though we always have quiet time in her room at naptime. She has been so early to do things: roll, crawl, walk, climb, talk. I wonder if she will also be early to drop the nap)