McKenna is a wonderful sleeper. We have been very blessed in the sleep department. That being said, she still goes through sleep regressions and wakes every once in a while, which I never have or will complain about. I personally think attempting to "fix" "issues" like waking in the middle of the night is really just wasted energy. Babies have tiny bellies, busy brains, and active bodies, no doubt they'll want sustenance or love throughout a 10-12 hour span! Even I do as an adult! But it must be said, I am fairly certain that in technical terms a baby "sleeping through the night" is 6 hours.
Every parent makes the personal decision to have baby sleep in a crib or sleep in their bed. I whole-heartedly believe this depends on the baby, the situation, and the parents. McKenna goes to sleep in the crib every night, and most nights wakes up there around 6-7am. Up until recently however we would bring her into our bed anywhere from 1am-6am. Sometimes she would make it back to her crib, sometimes she would finish out the night with us.
Again I reiterate that everyone's situation is different, but wanted to share some differences I have noted between McKenna's crib sleeping and bed sharing:
- She nurses much more often when we co-sleep
- This could be partially due to my fear of her waking. If I feel her stirring I just whip out a boob and everyone settles back in. This likely means she nurses for comfort rather than hunger when we co-sleep.
- AND I have NO CLUE how often she nurses when we co-sleep
- Everything is a haze when you're just tossing and turning and not actually getting out of bed. Like in the previous point, I just react naturally and don't really use my brain. When she's in the crib, I have to get out of bed, walk across the house just passed the clock that laughs at me, bring her back to bed, feed her, get out of bed to walk passed that laughing clock to take her back and hope she settles back in immediately. The process is a tedious one. The tile always feels cold (because I often can't find my slippers) and I ultimately always have to stop for a pee break. But I digress.
- If we co-slept full-time, I am not sure how I would be able to relax in the living room in the evening time with McKenna asleep on our bed alone. Nothing can keep her safe and secure from the edge of the bed like the crib can. Co-sleeping hardware would be a must.
- Which leads to morning routine.
- When McKenna is in her crib when we wake up in the morning Kevin and I can both get up and get started on our morning routine (or not). When she's in bed with us, it's a tag-team effort. I get up and make lunch and coffee while Daddy stays and chaperones, and then he tags out.
- The kicker: I get much more {READ: better} sleep when she sleeps in her crib
- Not only am I awoken by every single fidget, but I often worry about her somehow getting off the bed now that she's mobile. I also often get kicked, headbutted, punched, slapped. And it's not Kevin. I wake up, look over, and that little angelic face is peacefully in Zzzzz's Land while my mind plays through all of the What If's
- BUT I love when she rolls and tucks in tight into my chest. Knowing your baby is right there, safe and sound is such a comforting feeling.
Overall, I think if she woke up every couple of hours to eat like many babies do, we would consider co-sleeping. The middle of the night treks are rough. And me being a light sleeper personally sometimes make it difficult for me to fall back asleep after moving around the house so much. But in the grand scheme of things, this phase of life is only a minute. The long, exhausted days from disturbed sleep will all be a blur, a distant memory.
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