Transition

I can’t remember which day it was, but sometime before last weekend, we started to transition Claire from sleeping in our room to sleeping in her crib in her own bedroom.

I had figured that we would likely have Claire sleep in her playpen in our room when she was first born because newborns are up so often throughout the night that it just seemed easier to have her right there. But I had never intended to have her sleep in our bed. I don’t want to knock the idea – I just figured that I would be way too nervous to sleep next to a newborn. I was always such a heavy sleeper – what if I rolled over on top of her and didn’t realize it?

Then reality came along and – just like my birth plan (ha!) and my full intention to breastfeed – taught me that I didn’t really know anything.

I think it was Claire’s first night of existence in the outside world that I threw all of the above to the wayside and brought her into the hospital bed with me. It was the only way the three of us were going to get any sleep because, although she had been able to sleep in the plastic hospital bassinet during the day, she was having none of that once the lights went out.

That pretty well continued when we got home. We always started her off in her playpen at the foot of our bed, but most nights she would end up sleeping in between us at some point. Again, it was the best way we knew to get some sleep. And after all, it’s whatever works, right? We did it as safely as possible – neither of us would be intoxicated in the least, we made sure she couldn’t be covered by the blankets, that she wasn’t close to our pillows, etc.

And I discovered something else: I am no longer a heavy sleeper, particularly when she’s sleeping right next to me. It’s just one of those things that comes with motherhood. I’m aware of pretty much every grunt and fart and gurgle she makes.

But still – having her sleep in the bed with me isn’t something that I want to be long-term, mostly because I don’t sleep as well or as soundly as I do if she isn’t right next to me. I still don’t sleep as soundly as I did before becoming a mother, but I do believe I will sleep better if she has her own space.

And so, we started to put her in her crib, unsure of how that would go. But it ended up going much better than expected! There are still times when we have to bring her into the bed with us, usually in the middle of the night or towards morning. She’s usually able to stay in the crib when we first put her in at the beginning of the night, though, which is nice. And I have discovered that I prefer to feed her in her room than in ours because it’s much more comfortable sitting in the rocking chair than it is in bed; I find that I slouch a lot when I’m giving her her bottle in bed.

It also means that we have really started to develop a bedtime routine. Since I don’t want to dry out her skin, I don’t give Claire an actual bath every night, but I do wipe her down and rub some Johnson’s moisturizer on her that has a lavender scent which is supposed to make her sleepy. Then, when it’s actually bedtime, I change her diaper, turn the hall light on so that I can see a little bit, turn off the light in her room, turn on the tabletop fan for white noise, and Claire and I sit in the rocking chair. She drinks, I try to burp her (emphasis on “try” as I’m not always successful), then we sit for awhile until she gets really sleepy. Well, until I think she’s actually asleep, at which time I get up, tiptoe as smoothly as possible to her crib, and gently lay her down… which is often when her eyes pop open, she draws her legs up, and she starts grunting.

Most of the time, thankfully, she grunts for a few minutes and then goes to sleep. Although it’s annoying to think that I have successfully rocked my daughter to sleep only to discover that I’m wrong, I am happy that it seems like she’s able to put herself to sleep if she is sleepy enough. Not bad for 6 weeks old, I think.

The first “leg” is usually the best, and we’ll often get 3 or 4 hours before she wakes up. After that? It’s anyone’s guess. Sometimes it’s 3 hours, sometimes it’s 2. On our not-so-great nights, it’ll be more like 1 or 1.5. I’m still anxiously awaiting the days when she sleeps for a 6-hour stretch, but for now, I’m pretty happy with how she’s doing. Because, after all, she’s only 6 weeks old.

Family photo - May long weekend, 2011