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Introduction
Well, I'm sure you have already figured out what my main bit of conversation is for tonight. So, here it is.
There are many factors in why we still co-sleep, one, ds likes it. Two, our beds are in the same room and he just always ends up in ours. Three, I love to smell him and cuddle him. There are many factors why this has to stop. One, my neck and shoulders are suffering terribly from holding this big ol' boy in the crook of my elbow night after night. Two, he would sleep better if he wasn't disturbed when dh and I roll over and three, we would sleep better if we didn't have toes in our ears, fingers in our nose and knee's in our ribs.
We've tried sleep training kind of a few times and been successful, but something always happens to get him back in our bed. Anyway, this is what happens and this is our plans....does anyone forsee this working AT ALL.
We have a night time routine, allbeit, not very routine. It starts...when we get up in the morning, no lie. Walker wakes up at 8 or so and within an hour he is cranky and needing a nap. If we stay home and do not go anywhere, he is back out by 9:30 and will sleep 3 hours usually. When he wakes up he is playful and fun and plays on his own (I get most of my work done during that time). He wakes up at 12:30'ish and is cranky as crap. He eats, we play, we cuddle, we play, I hold him and he is basically a crank pot until his next nap at 3:30 or so. This nap usually last an hour or maybe even 2 sometimes (we felt like it was better to let him nap after 4 since he won't go down if we are still up b/c of the living arrangements). When he wakes up from this nap, he is cranky and irritable for an hour or so, then he will play with me or dh really well and seems happy and content for maybe an hour. Then, the cranky starts back up, he and dh take a bath, they get out, get all dried and dressed and I have a sippy waiting on them. Dh rocks him and he takes his sippy and I gradally dim the lights during this time. When the sippy is gone, I cut off light, turn off c-mas tree and other lights and dh swaddles him in his arms and rocks him to sleep. So far so good uh? This might take 10 min, it might take 40 but usually dh is snoring way before Walker gives up the fight. I wake dh to put him down and he will put him in his bed. Walker will stay there for about an hour or 2 and then he stands up in his bed which is right beside my side of the bed and whine and cry until I get him and put him in our bed. We do have a humidifer and a fan running to help block out some of the noise.
Now, normally....I cuddle him up in the crook of my elbow and talk low and say sweet little boy, little boy has to go night night, shhhh shhhh and the such. Then, he eventually goes on back to sleep. Somestimes he gets back up in bed and laughs and giggles and plays and I have to be kind of forceful about cuddling him up. He never cries, he just keeps getting back up sometimes and sometimes he don't. Anyway, I talk to him and try to sooth him that way. From there, we end up with body parts flying all night, I move him a couple of times from being head down in the bed and such. It is exhausting to me and dh and I know he would sleep better in his bed.
So, the plan: tonight, everything went exactly on schedule for the entire day. But when he woke up after his 2 hour hiatus in his own bed, I let him sit there and play for as long as he would. Then, I moved him to our bed but I didn't talk to him. He played and patted my head, my cheek, my leg, dh's back, and face and he would lay his head down on us and roll around but we NEVER spoke to him. He even got up and was beating onthe wall at the head of the bed. We let him lay on us and rub on us and I rubbed his head a couple of times, but no talking. Finally, he went to sleep, it took 30 min, but he used me as a recliner basically. I was on my side facing him, he was sitting up on the bed, leaned back against my belly and his head was propped on my hip. He went to sleep and finally just fell over and I moved him up so we wouldn't be putting him under the cover.
Now, the idea is that he will eventually just learn to wake up and go back to sleep (play if he wants in his own bed) without needing to get in bed with us. Anyone think we stand a chance? Anyone have suggestions other than CIO.
A quick note on CIO, I couldn't do it for a few reasons, one being it hurts me, two, he cries til he pukes if he gets that upset, three, my mom and dh wouldn't last past minute 3 and of course the living siutation as it is, it just isn't practical.
A quick note on naps. I normally lay down with him for naps. Sometimes I stay, sometimes I don't but either way he naps in my mom's bed b/c her room is super dark and it is away from where I am working.
Picture this, Papa Reason in his flannel pj's all decked out in bed, Mama Reason in her flannel gown neatly tucked under the cover, both with their hair nets and 'kerchiefs neatly in place and then.....this 2 legged/2 armed wild machine running around in the bed. It is like he is a baker and we are his dough and he must knead us before deciding on a spot. He laid on my knee's, on my hips, my belly, my shoulder, he wants to lay with his paci in his mouth with the paci sticking in the cheek of my face, he laid all over dh, he patted us down, I mean we were KNEADED! But, he went to sleep, no shhh'ing, no head rubbing, no rocking, nothing, all on his own. So, do you think we stand a chance in hell of making this work? If so, I'll write a book.
Anyway, other news is fairly slim. I am snowed under with embroidery work and can't do any after Walker goes to bed unless I move the machine and all that stuff so I use that time to relax. I am doing so photography and that is about it. Wayne absolutely loves his new job and we are one big happy camper family. And, we've been properly kneaded.
Walker still not walking but he does turn loose and just stand and hold a toy sometimes. Then he realizes what has happened and he collapses. He took one step toward my Uncle on Dec. 1st in order to retrieve a hat he had given my uncle. And the 2 the next day to play with my cousin, but basically that is it. He has 2 more teeth, nice prickly little molars sticking out there. I haveno clue when he broke them through, but the nubs are big now, who knows.
Lastly, I'll attach a picture on my ttm board for you to see. My question to all of you is this:
Did you allow this to happen to my child? Are you the responsible party? How could you?
On that note, go see, give me all the info on breaking the co-sleeping habit when our beds are in the same room and such and just tell me how you are doing on your Christmas shopping.
Thanks for reading,
Jerri Ann and Walker
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