Another First

Part of the reason for my LONG absence from blogland was EXTREME EXHAUSTION. When Grace came home, she seemed very content to go to sleep in her little bed in our room. She woke up once or twice each night to eat, and promptly went right back to her own bed. This actually had not been the way we planned to do things, but she seemed pleased with the arrangement. Who were we to argue?! A few weeks ago, Grace began waking up 5 or 6 times every night. My husband is a great Dad, always willing to take on the dirtiest of parenting tasks. So, he drug himself out of our nice, warm, cozy bed each and every time she wimpered. Sure, he was walking around during the daylight hours looking like a zombie, but our daughter never had any doubt that her parents were but a call away. Now THAT is dedication!! Unable to bear the sight of my husband's half-mast eyelids any longer, I suggested that we put the girl in our bed. I'm not sure why it took us so long to come to this conclusion, as it had been our plan all along before she got here, but I am happy to say that we are all getting a lot more sleep.

Unfortunately, that did not solve the second sleep-related problem. Along with her refusal to sleep in her own bed at night, Grace also decided that she could not nap unless she was in physical contact with me. I could hold her, lay her on the couch beside me with my hand on her chest, allow her to fall asleep sitting upright against my side or carry her around the house doing just about anything I wanted. The activity or noise level did not seem to bother her a bit. The only unacceptable alternative for napping was being placed somewhere without Mom. This might sound very sweet, but it gets a little hard to get anything done or spend time with any of the other kids with a constantly attached baby. She even went for about a week when she would only hang out with her Dad if I was in another room. Poor Dad!

Now, before I get a whole bunch of comments about how this is very normal, and all of the extra holding and cuddling is great for attachment.....I KNOW!! Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to hold aand cuddle and love on my baby. I don't even mind sharing my bed. It's just nice to be able to take a shower on a fairly regular basis. I don't even mind taking her to the potty with me. She is fascinated by the "boing!" sound that the doorstop makes. I am just opposed to smelling bad and having greasy hair. I like the idea of putting on clothes that are spit-up and odor free at least once each day. I don't expect them to stay that way for very long, but it is the principle of the thing.

Now that I have had my rant, there is good news to share. Grace still sleeps with Will and I. She naps draped across me, or in the very familiar textures and smells of my bed most of the time. However, today we had a new development. She played with her toys in her crib while I was sorting through some of her clothes. I mean the full size baby crib that is in her nursery! She was really enjoying it. She started to show the usual signs of needing a nap, i.e. eye rubbing, yawning, the occasional whine. I scooped her up right away. I definitely don't want her to have a negative association with this wonderful place that will someday allow me to cuddle up to my husband again at night. She layed in my arms, polished off her bottle and slipped quietly off to dreamland. She and I sat there on her bedroom floor for a few minutes, as I tried to decide what to do. I was hoping to finish the task at hand, but I also knew that putting her down rarely allows enough time for a potty break, let alone an actual task. I'm not sure what made me do it, but I layed her down in her crib. She hardly even wiggled. She laid there looking very content, and very much asleep! She napped in her crib for A WHOLE HOUR!!!!