Wednesday, January 27, 2010

And So He Sleeps

Through the night, that is.

It's not like he hasn't before. This time was different. He slept the entire night in his CRIB. I knew the day would come, and it was only a matter of time. Yet after many nights of waking up, not being able to get him back to sleep, and throwing him in the bed with me, I thought the day would never come.

He took all of his naps in his crib yesterday, and put himself to sleep each time. So last night I read him a few books, put him in the crib, turned on his Soothe and Glow Seahorse, and left.

After an hour of going back and forth giving him his pacifier back, or rolling him back onto his back (because he was getting frustrated, not because I mind him sleeping on his stomach), he finally tuckered himself out and gave up.

The kid is a stomach sleeper now. Which of course, is not recommended by most. However, he can roll over now. He has good neck and head control, so he's not going to smother himself. And I am not going to set my alarm every 3 hours just to creep in his nursery and roll him back over, jeopardizing all of my hard work to get him to fall asleep in the first place. Ultimately, he'd roll back over anyways.

So at 6:30 this morning, I heard Mason making his usual happy noises, and dragged myself into the nursery to see him. He was on his tummy, looking up at me with his sleepy baby eyes, and smiled the biggest toothless smile I've seen.

You know how you always say "I will....when I am a Mom." or "I will never...when I am a Mom." I always said to myself, "This baby will sleep in his crib from day 1. He's gotta learn that its his, and Mom and Dad's room is strictly Mom and Dad's." Why did I have this mentality? Because I don't want a 2 year old who refuses to sleep in his own bed, since he still finds comfort in being with Mom and Dad.

Then you have a baby. Then you play into your child's needs, and not your wants. The kid refused to sleep in his bassinet, his pack and play, or his crib from the beginning. The only place he would sleep was the couch. Which is why the Mr. and I were restricted to couch sleeping for the first 3 weeks.

After that, he was alright in the bassinet, but attempts at the crib were unsuccessful. So finally, here we are. Mason is almost 5 months now, and he finally sleeps in his crib. All night.

All in all, Mason and I both had wonderful sleep. In our respective rooms, in our own beds.

My little baby is growing up.

1 comment:

Mary Beth said...

I can completely relate to this post! MG is and has been a stomach sleeper and since I was breastfeeding she was sleeping in the bed with me! Thankfully, the switch from my bed to the crib has been successful! I actually don't think MG slept on her back after her first two weeks of life. Oh well. She is happy and healthy and that is all I could have asked for. Mason is adorable. I'm so glad that he slept in his crib, for you and for him!