Before the Yeti was born, my Red's very generous mom took me to Babies 'R Us to purchase a crib. We got a beautiful one that was modeled after sleigh style furniture. At our pig roast/baby shower we got the most adorable bed set with monkeys on it and I couldn't wait to get his nursery all set up and decorated. I couldn't wait to bring my little man home to sleep in his new cozy quarters.
Ok, so we had the Yeti, blah blah blah, get home, and put him in his crib.
Insert baby screams.
Tried that for a few nights, assumed (being a new mom) that it was normal for brand new infant to scream all night long.
Insert more baby screams, punctuated by hourly breast feeding.
Discovery, the Yeti sleeps in his swing during the day. Light bulb.
If Yeti sleeps in his swing during the day, then Yeti sleeps in his swing at night = true, then Hannah gets some rest. The equation was true. So, we moved his swing into his room (next to ours) and it was like a big old bunny sleeping pill.
Four weeks down the road, stupid me decides I'm sick of tripping over the swing in his less than spacious room, and put him in his crib for the night.
Insert baby screams. Back in the swing.
Hmm...poll friends who have children.
The following is a list of things that did not make my baby want to sleep in his crib:
Ticking clock
Lights on
Lights off
Night light
No night light
Re-wash sheets
Swaddled
Not swaddled
Mobile
No mobile
Music
No music
Hot water bottle under the sheets
No hot water bottle
Sweatshirt that smells like us in the crib
Crying it out (yes, he screamed for a full 8 hours)
I was resigned to the fact that the Yeti would sleep in his swing until he grew out of it. However considering the fact that at 7 weeks old he is so tall he wears 6 month clothes, I figured his growth rate would put him out of the swing shortly.
So, every day, while doing what ever it is I do all day, I would put him in his crib (awake) for a few minutes every day with the mobile on. He seemed quite content in there. He even finally got to the point that he would fall asleep in there.
Success came when the Yeti was 8 weeks 6 days old. I put him in his crib, at night, for the first time since he was 3 weeks old. Mobile on, lights off. Boom, he fell asleep. I laid awake all night long awaiting the nuclear meltdown, and it never came.
It was one of my big moments of feeling like I actually did something right as a mother. Thank god for small miracles.
Haha - we had both of our boys in the crib right from the first night home, so whether they liked it or not, that's where they were.
ReplyDeleteWasn't putting the thing together one of the WORST things ever? It took us hourrrrrs.
You aren't kidding, Mass Hole. I think ours was under construction for 3 weeks. Every time Red came home from work, he would go in there, swear for 15-20 minutes, I would hear him drop the barrel nuts, the cat would run in and bat it away, and he would come stomping out.
ReplyDeletehahaha, I know, right! Get the crib, fix up the nursery all nice and pretty... then get baby home to learn they have their own ideas about where and how they want to sleep, ugh!
ReplyDeleteNew follower here from Happiness Linky :)
The Mommies Made Me Do It @ http://themommiesmademedoit.blogspot.com/
Hooray!! That is NO small miracle, especially that early! You are a great mom and doing just what your baby needs :) And I think the nickname Yeti is just about the most hilarious baby alias I've ever heard!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us at Rub Some Dirt On It!
No kidding SugarMomma! I made the official decision today to deconstruct the swing and put it on Craigslist!
ReplyDeleteAnd Becky, my next post is how the Yeti got his name, not a long story but funny, I think.
Happy New Year 2012 to you and your family!
ReplyDelete