8 1/2 Months: Crib Sleeping/Daily Life

We've finally done it. Cash man is now in his crib as of September 27th (last Monday night). Thankfully it was an easy process. Here's the story...

We knew the time had come because none of us were sleeping well anymore. He was waking up about 3 or 4 times a night, and because I was next to him, he wanted to nurse. This made for a very sleepy Mama. He was cranky throughout the daytime because he was waking up so much throughout the night. I knew the hardest part would not be the transistion, but missing having him in bed with me. Pathetic, huh!

We decided to start the process on a Monday night so we had plenty of time for him to adjust before having to wake up early for church on Sunday morning. We decided 11 or 12 would be a good bedtime for him, since we don't lead a "wake up at 6am" lifestyle. We figured if he were to sleep 10-12 hours, which the pediatrician recommended, that he would wake up between 10 and 12 which was perfect! On Monday night, we played with him for a long time on the floor in the living room to wear him out a little bit. I nursed him and then fed him his usual "dinner" solid meal. He eats A LOT (at least 8oz. but most of the time between 8 and 12oz., three times a day), so I knew that would help with his sleeping. In my experience, a full baby always sleeps better. After dinner, I rocked him while watching TV for a little while, so he was tired, but not sleeping. Then he kissed Daddy goodnight, and I walked him in his room and laid him down. Immediately he got up and stood holding the crib railing. He was looking at me like, "Where are you going?" Then his little lip started to quiver and he started wailing. It was so sad, but I knew from putting him in his crib for naptime, he'd soon stop crying and go to sleep. As I thought, it only took about 10 minutes, and he was sleeping. He woke up twice that night, but the nice thing was, Colt got up once, and I got up the other time, instead of me having to wake up every two hours and nurse him. When he woke up, we'd go in there, give him a sip of water (drinking out of a cup is one of his favorite activities), lay him down, give him some kisses, and gently rub his head, then walk out. He'd cry for a few mintues, but very quickly fall back asleep. We all woke up the next morning well rested and in a good mood!

As I said, we started this last Monday, and he's been doing basically the same thing every night. He's crying about the same amount of time every night, but he almost always falls asleep within 10-15 minutes. The transistion was easy, but the emotional aspect was hard for me. That first night, when I went to get in my bed, I could still smell him on my pillow. There were two pee pee diapers that I had changed the night before on the changing table on the pack-n-play, which made me miss him even more. Even though he was just across the house, it felt like he was worlds away. I didn't cry which was good. I put the video monitor right next to my bedside and turned it up loud. What did people do before video monitors?!?! My attachment phase has gotten better as we get more used to this sleeping arrangement. :)

I never knew what having Cash would mean to me. Colt and I always talk about how he really is our best friend. We love waking up in the morning, and going into his room to start our day. He is always in the sweetest mood when he wakes up. After he wakes up I'll nurse him, and then eat my breakfast while he plays with his toys on the living room floor. After my breakfast he gets his solid breakfast, then we prepare to go for our walk. He gets all sunscreened up, and puts on his "workout clothes". Haha! He literally squeals with excitement when I open the door to push the stroller out at the beginning of the walk. I love our walks because it gives Colt and I time to talk and hang out without destractions of the TV, feedings, diaper changes, etc. etc. etc. Cash is just along for the ride. Moe came with us today (he is the most out of shape dog ever), and Cash loved watching him walk beside us. We have our designated water break spots, and Cash loves drinking out of my water bottle, even though he has his own sippy cup filled with ice water. At a certain point on our walk, Cash always begins to talk. We laugh everytime, because he's quiet as a church mouse until that one speed bump, when he begins to babble like a mad man. When we get home from our walk, I usually nurse him again and he goes down for a nap. The rest of the day is either spent running errands or playing at home. On days that Colt doesn't have to work, we usually go to dinner, although we're trying to do better about staying home and cooking. It really is a blissful life.

Well I better run. I'm going to try and start updating more often, even if its just a paragraph about something funny he did that day.

My "funny story" today would have to be about his "Marlon Brando voice". He immitates the Brando voice a lot when he is in serious conversation. It is hilarious. I will try to get it on tape. Well...that story wasn't really funny. I guess you have to be there. HAHA!

Thanks for reading!