The Sleeping Situation

Sleepyhead Cora
This weekend Cora's sleeping pattern was off from what it normally is. On Saturday we were out and about for a good portion of the day. Normally being in the car or being pushed in her stroller will make her fall asleep quickly, but this wasn't the case. She tried to make up for it on Sunday though. She was cranky most of the day. My friend, Heather, came to visit and meet Cora for the first time but unfortunately Cora was cranky when she got up from her nap. I could tell she was still tired, but she was very patient and was in a good mood for a little bit. She started to fall asleep in my arms though after about an hour so Heather left so I could put Cora back to bed. Even after that nap she was still cranky when she woke up. She fell asleep again right away when I picked her up. It was the first time that she's napped in my arms while I held her upright. She must have been so tired! She was finally back to her normal, happy self after that.

She still naps several times a day, but as I said in an earlier post, they can range anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. It seems that her second nap of the day is usually her longest. After that her naps will be 30 minutes to an hour. In between, she's awake for an hour and a half at a time. She has just recently started staying awake longer though, closer to 2 hours during the day and doing a 3-4 hour stretch of being awake before she goes to bed for the night. It's still not a set schedule but it's getting close!

She hasn't started consistently sleeping through the night, but it is definitely much better than it was before. Her longest stretch was a whopping 9 hours! I couldn't believe it. A 5-6 hour stretch is normal for her though. I, however, still wake up several times a night. I was never a sound sleeper to begin with, but now I wake up to check on her even if she's not the one waking me up. At least now I feel like a fully functioning adult during the day and I don't feel the urge to nap with her anymore. (Or if I do feel the urge, it's just because I want to cuddle with her and not because I'm sleepy!)

But, I have a confession to make. Cora still sleeps with us. And when I say with us, I really mean with us! Not only does she sleep in our room, but she sleeps in our bed. She actually slept in her own pack and play for the first few weeks of her life. Then during her nighttime feedings she would wake up and fuss and cry the instant I put her in her pack and play. There were nights when I slept on our over-sized chair in our bedroom because she would only stay asleep in my arms. That got to be too uncomfortable for me though, so I ended up trying to sleep with her on my chest back on the bed. I did love that since it made me feel closer to her, but I woke up a lot because I would be afraid to move at all. Finally we decided to buy an in-bed co-sleeper that we could put between us. I remember that was at 5 weeks! We only have a queen sized bed so it was a little cramped for us, but it worked. Cora slept well and Adam and I were able to sleep well too knowing that we weren't going to crush the baby.


Cora at 6 weeks spilling out of her co-sleeper.
Of course Cora ended up growing too long for the co-sleeper if she extended her legs fully. We continued using it anyway though because she normally sleeps with her feet tucked up. Then just last week it was like experiencing the pack and play all over again. After her nighttime feeding I would put her down in the co-sleeper and she would immediately wake up. Adam and I realized she had definitely outgrown the co-sleeper and was probably uncomfortable. So now, she sleeps on the bed in between us! We're not afraid of crushing her anymore since she's much heartier now than she was at 5 weeks, but I still wake up a lot to make sure she's not under the blanket. Now that she's really sleeping in the bed with us I can appreciate this image:


I actually experienced The Roundhouse Kick just last Thursday! Really, we sleep more like The Dog House, but Adam is actually in the bed and not on the couch!

As much as I love having Cora in the bed with us, it is getting to be time to put her in her crib! I know it's going to be an incredibly hard transition, more for me than for her. It's going to be a long transition too because she never sleeps in her crib at all, not even for naps. She does love being in her nursery though and enjoys being in her crib when she's awake, so I have hope. I don't want to do the cry it out method because I'm a big softie. I know it will break my heart to hear her wailing and wanting to just be back with us. I've already told Adam that I'll need his help because I don't think I can do it myself. We'll be starting the transition next month and I am both looking forward to it and feeling sad about it. It is hard for me to think of Cora all alone in her crib, but I have to remind myself that lots of babies sleep in their own rooms. A few of my friends have told me that their babies slept in their nurseries from day 1 and all was fine. At least I will have peace of mind knowing that her nursery is literally right next to our room and not upstairs or across the house.

It just feels like it's been a long time since Adam and I have been able to actually sleep next to each other! When I was pregnant Adam bought me a huge body pillow that took up most of the bed and kept us separated. Then after my c-section I was in too much pain to cuddle, and then quickly after that we had Cora's co-sleeper. Again, as much as I love having Cora with us and as much as I'm going to miss sleeping right next to her, I know I'm ready to be able to sleep next to Adam again. I know once Cora gets used to being in her nursery that she'll get better sleep too than she does in our bed. She is a light sleeper sometimes so she ends up waking a little bit anytime Adam and I move or make noise. I know Adam and I will get better sleep too knowing we don't have to worry at all about rolling over her, and I will be excited to get a little more space!


How much room I get on the bed.

If anyone reading has done this transition before, please let me know what method you used and how it went! Or any words of encouragement is greatly appreciated as well. I know it's going to be a long road ahead of us getting her into her crib!