This 'n That

My Little Explorer

I got another special card from my Secret Blog Pal...with a gift card to Wal-Mart...hhhmmm, what to go shopping for! I don't know...but I'm going to spend some time thinking about it! THANKS!! And the card was beautiful (an excellent craft project)!

Several people have emailed me wondering how Megan has been sleeping. Well, the best way to describe it is "hit or miss". Saturday night I took "Megan duty" because it took over an hour to get her to sleep, then she was awake within 40 minutes. So, she slept with me. I mean, she rolled around the bed with me...kicked me in the face, etc. At some point she thought it would be a good idea to put her feet at the head of the bed and I had to protect my face (as best as possible) as she kicked and rolled while trying to get comfortable. Needless to say, neither of us slept well! She did finally calm down about 2am and slept until about 5am. Dad then took over and I slept for a few more hours. Sunday night started out similarly (taking so long to get to sleep), but she actually slept pretty darn good with me. She didn't hardly wiggle and was only up one time. In fact, she was doing so well I put her in her crib and she slept a few hours in there, but came back to bed with me around 4am. Last night she was in her crib all night, but was very restless and fussed quite a bit. I typically wait for a little when she cries out to see if its "crisis" or not (the tone is different). She also came to bed with me at 4am and slept (for the 2nd day in a row) until 6am.

One night last week (I think), I was becoming very frustrated at night when she wouldn't go back to sleep. I was complaining about how I was so tired...and I needed to get some sleep (and she did too!), but I was rocking her hoping she'd go back to sleep. She did finally, but not before I was reminded that soon she'll be too independent to need me to rock her for very long. Yes, it is inconvenient for me. Yes, I am losing sleep every night. Yes, I'm losing "my evening" time. But, the day will come (and likely very soon) that she won't want snuggles. She won't want me to hold her for 2 hours in the rocking chair. I need to soak up every minute of snuggles I get (even though I'm exhausted). She's growing up so fast. She's changing so much. This season will pass too. On the one hand, I'm excited to know I'll be getting sleep soon. On the other hand, I'm sad that she's getting so big and won't "need" me in the same way anymore. Such a conflict.

Oh, and before I forget, I've been meaning to post about rocking her to sleep. First, my mom rocked each of her five children to sleep when we were young. When they could understand, she would say she was rocking for x number of minutes, then we had to go to our bed whether we were sleeping or not. I remember doing this with my younger brother and sister when I babysat them. And this is the approach we've decided to take with Megan. Yes, I know she has to learn to put herself to sleep. And she will. One day. Well, I was researching sleep issues the other day I found a pediatrician who agrees with my stance. What's more, he believes (as I had felt) that forcing to her to sleep on her own is potentially negatively impacting her bonding and attachment. I appreciated an expert confirming my feelings. So, I'm not crazy. And I'm not spoiling my child (despite what I've been told by some). Dr. Sear's site has lots of good information about all kinds of child topics. Apparently, when his first child was born (back in the 1970s) his wife felt that the child needed to sleep with them, despite what the books said. He became a proponent for co-sleeping from that point on. So, I am rocking her to sleep and if necessary, she will slept with me. It's not up for discussion. And I'm not going to feel guilty for either of them.