So if you are following our blog you know that we are co-sleeping.....and have been since we met little miss on Sept. 4th. When I say co-sleeping, what I really mean is ....well, Joshua, Lauren, and I start off in the master bedroom king bed..... Brad (daddy) has taken over the guest room and sleeps there. Usually at some point in the night - both kids are nearly laying on top of me they are so close to me.... I can't turn over, and I wake up ever few hours pushing them to their designated spots and trying to get comfortable myself. It's misery! Sometimes Joshua gets tired of being pushed and moves to the guest room with Brad - and even at times he goes to his room. He's so jealous of Lauren sleeping with me, that he just can't get beyond the fact that surely he needs to sleep with one of his parents, so he accepts daddy as second choice.
Well, two nights ago - Lauren woke up in the middle of the night - she seemed to be very unsettled, so I took her to sleep with me in Joshua's bedroom -- not sure why I did it - but thought, you know, we need a change in scenery. Joshua stayed in the master bedroom -- at least for a bit... until at some point he realized he was by himself and moved to the guest room. Lauren and I slept like babies in Joshua's bed... his mattress is a bit softer than our tempurpedic mattress in the master. So around 12:30 - she was sleeping soundly in Joshua's bed....and I decided to move back to my bed!! I placed a pillow next to her body, hoping she would think someone was laying there....and off I went. I actually got to sleep by myself in the master from 12:30 until morning!! It was awesome!! We cheered for Lauren the next morning, sleeping by herself!!
So, last night I decided it was time to make one more step towards Lauren sleeping alone in her room. We set up the blow up mattress in her room and I slept there while she was in her toddler bed....of course she settled in to her bed after her brother agreed to come join her -- she called out to him and patted the bed showing him there was room for him..... she NEEDS him sometimes so badly. :) So it was so cute the two of them in the toddler bed snoring away.... it was about 12 am and as I laid on the blowup mattress with my back aching I decided, yep another night of me escaping to my own bed....and up I got. I got settled in, pillows stacked, comforter and quilt just right ..... off to dream land until...... 12:35 am.... yep about 30 minutes later I hear, "momma, momma"..... I go into the Lauren's room and she's slipped off the side of her bed and sat on the floor -- now you see this bed is soooo close to the floor she can actually sit on the edge of the bed and her feet touch the ground. So I'm betting she rolled over and noticed I wasn't in the blowup bed any more and decided to get out of bed - but didn't know where to go -- so she called out.
I swooped her up and held her tight and we went back to the master bedroom bed and slept til morning. This girl..... is so attached to me for sleeping.... it's really a struggle. I'm going to try again tonight, and again tomorrow night.... and perhaps one day in the not so far off future she will sleep all night in her room alone, Joshua will return to his bed and I can have my husband back! In your list of adoption prayers, won't you add our request for secure sleeping??
I know co-sleeping is highly suggested for bonding, but I think I'd reconsider this decision if I had it to do over again. Maybe co-sleeping for nap only -- or something like that. It is so very hard to break this cycle.
This blog documents our adoption journey (our daughter is from India). Now that she's home with us and we are a complete family of four (we also have a son, Joshua) this blog serves to share a variety of topics, adoption related, parenting..... just everyday life. Check out our FAQ on adoption questions, along with any other questions commonly asked.
What about moving her toddler bed next to your bed? We did that with Grace for about 9 months. Then, we moved and it was a natural transition for her to sleep in the same room with her sisters.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe she and Joshua could share a room for a little while.
Sleeping issue are so hard! Kaikai wakes up anytime between 2 and 5. He never sleeps past 5. But, we're hoping that he sleeps until 6 (like he did in China) soon.
Sleep is such a precious commodity! I'm a light sleeper, and wish I had invested in a large co-sleeper with our first child. We may use a (borrowed) side-car crib/co-sleeper for K. With Anya, she started out in our bed, then moved to a crib in her room.
ReplyDeleteWe "practiced" not sleeping together with naps, though -- it seemed less scary for her because it was light out on both ends of the sleep. When we first tried not laying down with her, we did our normal pre-nap routine, then I sat in the rocking chair & read a book in her room until she fell asleep. It took a loooonng time the first couple of days . . . but not scary for her. Then it got shorter and shorter, until one day I had to run and answer the phone, and she was asleep on her own when I went back. Hope you all have continued success with better sleep!
Nancy
I will be praying for your family. May you each get peaceful rest!
ReplyDeleteWe did the co-sleeping thing for about 2 weeks with our first, but all of us were so exhausted that it was not good for any of us. Devi went to sleep in her own crib after that. I think she was so tired that a night of sleep in her own bed was welcomed! Good Luck! It is hard to know what will work, what is comforting to everyone. Baby steps and you'll figure it out and hopefully get some much needed sleep along the way!
ReplyDeleteJulie
I think this is the first time I've come across your blog...but just had to comment. We tried co-sleeping for a couple nights. We were exhausted and my husband was not well from the trip to India. In desperation, I shoved our daughter's crib right up next to my side of the bed. She laid down and we held hands through the crib slats. If she woke up in the night, we held hands until she was out and her hand went limp. We slept this way for a long time until one night, she was holding my hand, looked at me with a smile, sighed, let go, and rolled over and went to sleep. It was priceless! Eventually, we moved her crib across the room and then into a sibling's room. She is still in a room with a sibling and gibber~gabbers herself to sleep. :) Praying you get some rest! Sally
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