Sleeping Baby
Oct 30th, 2006 by Tana
Ah! The joys of getting a baby to sleep!
I remember with Ben, when I was in the hospital, I couldn’t put him down or he would wake up and cry regardless of how long he had been sleeping and how soundly I thought he was asleep. They tell you not to take your baby to bed with you in the hospital, but it seemed that I had no choice. So I was a bad patient and slept with the bed set so I was in a reclining position and Ben was on my chest. Even once we got home, I had to sleep in the recliner with him on my chest or he would wake up every time I tried to put him down. Finally, I mastered the art of swaddling and was able to get him to sleep in his bassinet if he was swaddled and lying on his tummy.
[I know…they’re not supposed to sleep on their tummies, but they need to sleep so you do what you have to do. Furthermore, from what I’ve read about SIDS, breastfeeding is actually more effective at preventing SIDS than all of the other advice they give you such as putting baby to sleep on its back, not having fluffy bedding in the crib, etc. Perhaps it has something to do with the breastmilk being easier to digest than formula and they sleep too deeply with formula. Who knows! Steve and I both sleep on our stomachs and hate sleeping on our backs, so it came as no surprise that Ben wouldn’t sleep on his back either.]
So along comes Joey and this time I was prepared for the same routine. I had my sling all ready so I could sleep without worrying what position Joey was in (you don’t want them to fall off your chest and get caught between you and the armrest and suffocate). So the first two nights, that is exactly what we did. He didn’t seem to like the sling very much, though. Perhaps it was because the woven fabric of my Maya Wrap had less give than he was accusstomed to inside me.
He also switched from being a very happy baby on day 1 to screaming hysterically every time he was put down, even if just for a diaper change. Ben was never that upset about being put down, but he’s not much of a communicator either. Joey gets very upset about being put down for any reason, but is immediately happy again when you pick him up.
On day 3, I wanted so badly to take a nap after lunch, and no one was available to hold Joey while he slept so I just took him to bed with me. He slept on his tummy right next to me just fine, to my surprise and satisfaction. We had the bed to ourselves so there was plenty of room. We each had our own covers, and he just snuggled up to me. And I felt so good after getting a good nap. He was also beginning to accept being put down on the changing table for a diaper change, though he still didn’t like being put down for other reasons (such as so Mommy could go to the bathroom…)
So Thursday night, I took him to bed with me. We have a bedrail that I used with Ben when he co-slept for a time. I put that on the bed and then slept on my side with my arm around Joey. I got tired of sleeping on my side, but at least I got to sleep. Friday night, I took him to bed with me again, and this time, I was able to change positions during the night without any problems. What a relief!
On Saturday, I was finally able to get him to sleep in his bassinet during naps. We had to be to the limp limbs stage of sleep, but once we got there, I would put the little burp cloth under his head since that was what it was on when he slept on my chest, and then I’d cover him with a blanket to make up for the lack of warmth from being next to me.
So Saturday night I probably could have put him in his bassinet once he was asleep. But I must confess…I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. When I’m sleeping, he seems so far away in that bassinet, even if I pull it up right along-side the bed. And if I bring him to bed with me, he doesn’t have to be in that limp limb stage of sleep, which means less time sitting on the couch waiting for him to be sound asleep.
At this point, we seem to have come to an arrangement that works for both of us. Dr. Sears talks about babies being heat seeking missiles when they sleep with their mommies, meaning that they migrate toward you at night. That seems to be true. I put him down about six inches from the side rail, and when I wake up, he is always further away from it rather than closer.
I’m sure eventually I will want to sleep by myself again. With Ben, we co-slept for a time, but he actually awoke and nursed more often when he slept next to me than he did when he slept in his crib, so in order to get more sleep myself, I put him back in his crib where he seemed to be perfectly happy. I must confess…I am a utilitarian when it comes to sleeping arrangements. However baby and I get the most sleep is how we’re going to do it.