About a month ago, we began transitioning Oliver from the bassinet in the pack & play located in the corner of our bedroom to his crib. His crib in his very own nursery, which we painstakingly planned, painted, and outfitted. Apparently, it was all for the purpose of storing his clothes, and that's about it so far.
When I say that we began transitioning him, what that actually entailed was having the idea of putting him in his crib for the night. That's as far as we got. Now that he is over two feet in length, his chub-chub legs are dangling off the end of the bassinet. He needs to be in his crib. So we tried it, and it worked one night. I'm guessing he was in a kind of infantile coma that night, because just as we were wiping our brows and calling ourselves lucky in a smooth transition, that was the last we saw of sleep in that crib. He can be snoring in our arms, and the second he is placed in his crib, his eyes fly wide open and he begins to scream. We have tried patting, petting, and talking. We have tried not talking. Rocking. Singing. We have tried waiting it out. All useless.
So I was surprised when Michael came downstairs this evening to announce that Ollie was asleep. In his crib. "Nice work!" I said, not wanting to believe it just yet. 16 stairs later, we heard cooing, which quickly morphed into fussing and into a full-blown wail. With patience that can only come from God, I quietly picked Oliver up and told him that we are always nearby. And I rocked him. For 45 minutes. His eyelids flirted with sleep, but entertained stares at nursery walls won out every time. I tried putting him down. Wail, wail, wail.
I'm not proud of what I did next. I actually woke Michael up to tell him I was going to take Oliver downstairs because the little stinker was so wide awake. "Okay,"he said groggily. "You can bring him in here," he said. "I'm not sure that's going to work either," I said with a sleep-deprived tone of frustration. "If he's wide awake in there, he will be in here, too." Michael consented by falling back to sleep. Grrr.
So off I marched, babe in arms, downstairs. If I couldn't go to bed, I was at least going to get something done. I put Oliver in his swing:
And after I had the second sentence written in this blog entry, the little dude was sound asleep.
Michael and I have been struggling with the question of what to do with the sleep schedule of a 3-month-old. Let me clarify: a 3-month-old who is often times too busy taking in the world or discovering his new vowel sounds that he can't remember that he's hungry or tired. Do we have a night time routine? Or should we still be just sleeping when he does? Do we make him go to bed at a certain time, when we do? How hard do we fight this? How do we get him to sleep in the crib?
I supposed this means I need to start reading -up. I have made a point, both unintentionally and intentionally, to not read-up on things. I just want to experience motherhood and figure some things out on my own. Google any baby question or begin searching around on parenting sites and I will become ill with over-information. I have gotten by on pediatric nursing experience and advice from friends, which is, dear readers, always welcome. I suppose I could go to the library tomorrow and find out more information the old-fasioned way. That is, if I ever get some sleep.
When Ollie has had trouble sleeping on nights like tonight, he has either landed back in his bassinet which he has overgrown, or in the crook of my arm away from pillows and away from the edge of the bed. I confess that I don't fight the latter option very hard. Dreaming side-by-side in the warmth of each other is one of the best feelings God has ever created. I can't do that forever, though. On second thought, maybe I can fit into his crib...
Remember - unsolicited advice is worth exactly what you pay for it! : )
ReplyDeleteThat being said, 3 months is still too young for them to develop a schedule. Habits or rituals can help prepare him (and you) for later, but 6 months is about the earliest you can hope for for that. But be careful about being too strict about a nighttime routine, or later, he may have trouble going to sleep if you can't do the routine for some reason. But bath, bottle, book, bed is a pretty common one.
Do you have something like a bouncer that is small and portable but he will sleep in? We got lucky with Anja (slept in the crib the 1st night home), but other friends have had success with the tricky transition by letting them sleep in the bouncer in their room for a few nights and then actually placing the bouncer IN the crib for a few nights until he gets used to the new room and then moving him right into the crib. Even a carseat works, just make sure it's tilted correctly so his head/neck are in the right position. Or try moving the pack'n play into the nursery for a few nights and then the crib.
Another trick that can work is to buy what many refer to as a "baby crack machine." It's a machine that plays soothing sounds and projects images on the wall. You can play it all night since it plugs in. Homedics makes one and they're available at Bed Bath & Beyond. You could borrow ours if you want. Good luck!
Ok, here's where I disagree with Susi on one point. We had L on a schedule at 3 months...it just sort of happened. Naps and all. I thought On Becoming Babywise helped us a lot to get a nap schedule down and with that comes the night schedule. That and the Happiest Baby on the Block. But I do agree with the bouncer idea or carseat in the crib etc. It works. Thinking of you and healthy thoughts!
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