A few thoughts on sleep this morning...
I realize that many of you would not be in agreement with our decision to sleep with Megan every night. I really had hoped that she would sleep in her bed (toddler bed, now) once we got through July, but that has not happened at night, although she does nap in there by herself. And to be honest, I'm not really sure when that will happen at night. See, Megan is doing so much better now that she's sleeping with one of us. That doesn't mean that we don't have still have bad nights. The difference is that a bad night means that she's having bad dreams, crying in her sleep and thrashing around. Sometimes she calms down some when we touch her, sometimes when we shush her and sometimes completely on her own while we wonder what's making her upset. She has been sleeping until about 6am every morning...sometimes a little earlier and others a little later (this morning it was almost 6:30, but she had a very restless night).
What are the benefits I've seen of us sleeping with her...well, she's sleeping better overall, and honestly we are getting more sleep. She is far more confident in familiar and unfamiliar environments. Maybe this is because she's older, but I honestly think having more sleep has made an impact. She's now sleeping for longer periods of time, which means more restful sleep. She's also not as "sensitive"...meaning that she's not always in tears because she thinks everyone is laughing at her, even if the laughing has absolutely NOTHING to do with her. I don't know if I have even blogged that about her, but even the documentation we have from one of the nanny's in China commented about how she is so sensitive. We've seen the same thing. And she is still very sensitive, but she's giggling (or at least smiling) when she's being silly rather than crying because we see her behavior as silly. Her personality is showing more both at home and elsewhere.
So, while sleeping with one of us is not ideal, it's what she still needs right now. Consequently, whether this is our preferred sleep plan or not, it's working for her--and ultimately for us, so it's what we are doing. When will it end? I honestly don't know, but we'll take our ques from her.
2 comments:
I'm glad that she is doing better with her sleep, even though it's not perfect. I know it was very stressful for you all when you were struggling to find an answer. It's good that you have found something that works.
It's great that she will take her naps in her bed. I would assume that will help whenever the day comes to transition her back to her bed at night.
You've got to do what is right for your child and if that means her sleeping with you then that's what is best. There should be no need to explain yourself to anyone, but I know how people are.
I think that it's probably helped with her bond with you both as well. Given her confidence because you're always and instantly so close when she's afraid.
My oldest niece is very sensitive, just like MM. Still at 10 she can be that way sometimes but it's better. I do believe it's made her an even better big sister though.
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