I'm writing this post at 10:40PM, which is something that just two weeks ago I would not have been able to do. Why? Because I would have had a four week old baby sleeping on my chest. See, the only place Owen would sleep for the first five weeks was on our chests. Sometimes he would lay on his back but only after he was sound asleep and even then we had to put him between our legs so that he felt our legs next to him. The crib was simply not an option.
Last week I decided it was time to make a concerted effort to Owen to sleep in his crib. The first night took a while. I laid him in his crib four times and picked him up four times. But, finally, on the fifth try, he fell asleep. The next night it took two times, a marked improvement. Finally, by the fourth night of putting him in his crib it only took one try and he was out.
Things have gotten even better since then. At first, when I would lay him in his crib I would have to keep a hand on his chest until he fell asleep. But, the last couple nights, I have laid him in his crib and he has put himself to sleep! It doesn't hurt that he's twitching a lot less these days so he doesn't wake himself up as often after he's already sleeping.
There were three keys to getting Owen to sleep in his crib. First, he likes to sleep on his side. He hasn't taken to sleeping flat on his back yet. We have one of those infant positioners so we just prop him up on his side on that. Second, he likes to fall asleep in a position where he can see his nightlight. He stares at his nightlight until he can't keep his eyes open anymore. Finally, white noise. Right now I just put my iPhone in his crib and turn on one of the white noise apps (I use Easy Relax). Eventually we'll get a CD player and a white noise CD so I don't have to give up the iPhone at 8:30PM each night.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in comments to a previous post telling us that it was just fine to practice a little co-sleeping while he was so young. It eased our minds knowing that others had gone through similar experiences. Now we get to enjoy the hum of the baby monitor as we blissfully fall asleep in a bed, not a couch, and without a baby on our chest.
3 comments:
Hooray! So glad to hear you all are getting some more rest! And from here it will only get better...with some bad nights here and there!!
Labutta, nice work. That is great that you can make a stand so early. It is hard to be disciplined but so worth it.
I wanted to suggest a noise maker for you that they sell at Bed Bath and Beyond that we couldn't do without. Here is the link:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13630208
We found it fairly priced and easy to bring on trips (easier than a CD player) and then you don't have to fool with the CD. Ryan likes the waterfall setting but there are 5 or 6 different settings (including a heartbeat). I'm not sure Ryan could fall asleep without it (we've never dared to try) but it is also great for us in our small apartment so he doesn't hear us outside his room.
Thanks for setting up the blog. It is great to see what you guys are doing. It looks like you are settling in nicely.
Congrats dude. Totally agree with dcooley though - I don't think they have the same one we do, but the portable sound machine is clutch, especially for trips or evenings away from home where you want to put him down before you head home. (I know, sounds crazy. But eventually you will indeed leave the house after 5pm occasionally.)
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