Soooo...it's been a minute, huh? Motherhood has been awesome so far! My daughter is a beautiful, even-tempered, smart (did I mention beautiful?) little girl. She has made me so very happy about my decision to be a mom. She loves to laugh, is silly like her mommy, and amazes me every day with how fast she learns. The world is definitely her play ground. And she is absolutely the joy in my life!
Do you feel the love?? Good. Moving on.
Unfortunately, despite all the wonderful reasons I love my daughter, the past few weeks have been a steady progression toward the realization that I've created a sleep monster!! LOL. Not literally, but seriously. My daughter is demanding like her mom, and I've allowed her to develop some not-so-attractive sleep behaviors. Not to mention, since I'm a nursing mom, and I pretty much feed on demand, she's gotten used to eating all through the night (sleeping with me) and pretty much running things.
Well today, I made a decision to take a stand against this little tyrant. She don't run nothing! (except my heart) But anyway...I said I wouldn't, but I realize that nothing else has worked--I tried CIO again, for like the 4th time, but I finally stuck to my guns and let her cry until she fell asleep. She really whined most of the time, but all-in-all the total time before falling asleep was 45 minutes.
Of course, I nursed her then read a book before bed time, and plan to follow this routine every night, regardless of bed time. Yes, to bed at the same time every night is preferred, and recommended, but how realistic is that when I work varying hours and attend extracurricular events throughout the week? Not very.
I really expected her to shriek for more than 30 minutes as she has in every other attempt made in the past, but she really just whined and fussed me out in her baby talk. Before I knew it, I didn't hear any more noise, and she was fast asleep. I only checked on her once, but it seemed to make her even more animated, so I decided against going in again. After all, I believe she is past the point of thinking I won't be there.Ever.Again.
As I type, 2 hours later, she has awakened again. She started off with a grunt--clearly saying "mommy, I'm awake, you can come get me now." Then that turned into distressed babble and fussing and has stayed that way for the past 10 minutes. But she has yet to get loud enough to turn on her voice activated sleep machine...that says a lot! There are 1 minute intervals between her fussing now...which let's me know she is either almost back asleep, or she's listening to see if I'm coming. LOL. Sorry hon, I'm not.
I'm gonna turn over, and get me some shut eye--finally.
And just that fast, no more fussing. Hmph. Seems I should have put my foot down sooner. Ah, well. All in due time right?
Until next time, remember that no one can convince you when the right time for ANYTHING is. When it's time--you'll know.
