I haven't really talk about this with many people. I find that the only people who think you SHOULD co-sleep are people who already ARE co-sleeping! We let the doctor know we were and she was fine with it as long as we did it safely..of course!
We never set out to be co-sleepers with either of our kids. We do "baby leads" training with most things. Jocelyn went in her crib at 3 months and of course had her bad nights but for the most part she liked her space and so did we!
Then came our Casen man! I even remember being in the hospital with Casen and thinking how nice that he was a snuggler. He didn't want to be in that clear, plastic cold hospital bassinet. He wanted to lay on mommy and I let him!
After we got home we borrowed the "rock-n-sleeper" from my sister. Casen wanted none of that! Back to mommy's chest he went. I happily obliged him since he was my newborn...my baby...my boy! It was also
much easier to breastfeed him when he was right there too!
I never felt safe in the bed with him so I slept on the couch right outside our room! It was hard to be away from Steve but he would always bring us water, make sure my phone was plugged in and check on us through the night!
After about 4 months of this, a friend gave us their old "co-sleeping" bed that you put next to your bed. Casen again wanted none of that! Back to mommies chest her went out of Steve and I getting sleep so we could function and be good parents to Jocelyn too!
After more months went by I knew I didn't want to do this forever. Steve and I kept saying, "this isn't forever"! That was our motto and it pulled us through every night!
Casen started to ween from breastfeeding around 8 months. He was fully weened by 9 months!
I didn't want to stop co-sleeping until Casen was fully done breastfeeding. I felt it was important for that to not be the reason he stopped.
Neither Steve nor I are into the "crying it out" method! So we do our own version! I think every baby is different and no book can tell you how YOUR baby will react! This is where I think parent instinct come into play big time! You know your baby the best!
We decided to start with putting him in his crib during his nap this past Sunday! I thought that might be easier on everyone. I'm so glad we did it this way!
However, he refused to lay down the first time! He was fussing and then got really quiet. So we peaked back in and saw this! Standing up while sleeping! Too funny not to take a photo! Yes, we did lay him down....after the photo of course!
When he does fuss or cry, Steve or I go in. We do not pick him up but instead rub his back and he is usually so tired that he does go back to sleep! It's been a pretty good transition actually! I know there will be bumps but seeing him sleep 12 hrs (almost straight with only 1 wake up) I know he is happy and I'm confident he is ok and sleeping well!
This doesn't mean I didn't bawl my eyes out the first night without him! Steve was so comforting and reasuring that he was OK! I think I need to be sleep trained as well! I missed him so much but I too slept SO much better!
We also now have two monitors. Steve has Jocelyn's on his side and I have Casen's on my side! I love being able to see them and know they are safe!
I loved every minute of co-sleeping with my little man (well most of the minutes) and soaked them up knowing one day it would end. I loved being able to feel him breathe, smell him, hold his hand all night long! I felt so blessed that he wanted to be snuggled and that I got to soak up those moments!
But it was definitely time to help him get more independent! He is almost 21lbs as well and very mobile. Even tough I surrounded myself with blankets and pillows in case he fell off it was still becoming a saftey issues!
So glad we are through the worst of the transition!
Happy cribbing!
No comments:
Post a Comment