Sleeping

 We met our baby when was she one day old. We were able to sleep over with her in the hospital that night. The next night I slept on the couch and she slept in the car seat on the floor next to me. We were about to move, so most of the house was packed up. We did not have a crib yet, but we did have a bassinet. She refused to sleep in the bassinet so I just went with the car seat since she really liked to sleep in that.

I was able to see her from the couch and rock her as needed. It worked out really well bc I would watch her breathe for awhile. At night when she started to stir I was able to hear and see her so I could get up and get her bottle ready before she started to cry.

We kept this arrangement for two weeks and then we moved. At that point my beloved couch that had seen me through multiple surgeries and had been part of my life for the past 15 years, was deemed unworthy of the new house. We put it in the basement, but probably should have tossed it. It was in great shape to look at but the springs were gone on DH side. He didn't care but it was embarrassing when someone would come over and fall into the couch.

The first week in the new house, she was 3 weeks old. I slept in my own bed and had her sleep in her room. I would get up at night, go into her room to feed her and then go back to bed. I quickly realized that this was not going to work for me. It was really hard not having her in the same room. I know most parents keep the baby in their room, but I needed to be able to move around, and turn on lights etc without having to worry about waking up DH

I went out and bought an Aerobed and placed it in her room. I was much happier bc now I could see her again and rock her as needed. It was great to be able to lay in bed and rock her in the car seat.  I tried to get her to sleep in the bassinet a few times, but she would not sleep in it.

She got to the point where she would only wake me up twice a night usually around 1:30 and 4:30. At around two months of age, I finally got to paint her room. I had to move her out of her room for two weeks. I placed her in another room that I use for my office. There was really no room in there for my bed, so I went back to sleeping in my room.

I painted her room lilac and assembled the crib. I put the sheets on the bed and had it all set up but I was unable to bring myself to put her in it. The crib seemed so big and it was a big step for me. I am not sure why, but it seemed scary. After the room was ready, she went back to sleeping in her room in the car seat.

Now she sleeps through the night and she is 10 weeks old. The first night was scary bc I woke up before her. I panicked and I ran to her room to see her. She has been sleeping through the night for about  a week now. I feel more sane now. Even thought she only woke me up twice a night, I was still not getting enough sleep and it is not good to get interrupted like that. I was really sleep deprived for weeks.

I found out recently why she refused to sleep on her back. I am thankful that I had the instinct to allow her to sleep upright in the car seat. (More on this in the next post)