People Change...

Including 11 month old babies...

Lets start at the beginning...

I have always been a big fan of sleep. My mom tells me that I was a great sleeper as a baby/kid. I never really wanted to sleep in my parents bed. There were times when my mom would ask me to sleep with her and I would say no. I liked my bed and my uninterrupted sleep routine. I have always need quite a bit of sleep to function in my everyday life. I liked to get eight hours on a normal day and even more on weekends.

When I found out that I was pregnant I knew this was going to change. I slept a lot during my pregnancy... like a lot! Most pregnant women do... we are growing a human inside of us... that is a pretty exhausting thing to do. I hoped that since I slept a lot during pregnancy and since I was a good sleeper as a kid just maybe Charlie would also be a good sleeper.

At two weeks old we decided to put her in the crib in her room instead of in the play pin in our room. That was a good decision. She did really well that... especially after we made it all soft and cushy. From the time she was born (except for a few nights at the very beginning) she would have a longer stretch of sleep in the middle of the night. Once I went back to work we started a bedtime routine that started right before that long stretch of sleep. It included a warm bath and a bottle. It didn't take long for her bedtime to move from 10:00 to 7:00. Soon after she was going to bed at 7:00 she slept through the night. We had some rough nights here and there, but for the most part she has been sleeping 12 hours at night since she was 4 months old. It was amazing! I never thought that would actually happen. I am proud of myself for being consistent with her routine and making sure she was always home in time for bed. It has been extremely inconvenient at times and we have missed out on several opportunities to go out to dinner and spend time with family/friends. However, there is a lot I can get done around the house after she goes to bed at 7:00.

Well, she has changed recently. She has started waking up in the middle of the night for about an hour or so. No matter what I do she stays awake for about the same amount of time and is quite fussy. There is a point when I finally get angry (I know... I am not always a good mom) and I throw the covers off of me and slam my pillow on the floor and march into her room (this is after several nice attempts to get her to calm down and go back to bed)... this is always the time when she decides she is ready to sleep again. All it takes is a few pats on the back and she is out. I know just one hour once a night is not bad at all... but when you are not used to a baby getting up it is quite difficult. She has also been waking up earlier and earlier... and we can't have that.

Last night was my last straw. I have been sick and I haven't slept well in a week. I decided today that something had to change! And that is what I did. I thought that she might be getting hungry in the middle of the night. So, tonight I fed her more once we got home from daycare. I think that will help with the waking up in the middle of the night. Since she ate she was in a great mood and not nearly as fussy as she normally is when we get home in the evenings. So, I kept her up later. I'm hoping that will fix the getting up too early problem. She didn't even get in the bath until 7:00. Everything went so much smoother. She didn't cry during her bath (which is something she has recently started doing), she didn't cry or fight to get away while I put the lotion, diaper and pajamas on her. After that was done she played in the living room for a while until I decided she was ready for bed. It was about 7:30 at this point. She was getting clumsy and just seemed exhausted. We went back to her room, cuddled up and she drank up her bottle. She wasn't quite asleep when the bottle was gone, but she was super relaxed. I put her in the crib and she rolled over and closed her eyes.

I am crossing my fingers that the rest of the night goes as well as the bedtime routine. I have a hard time changing things up. Lately that is all we have been doing... But change is good... I hope. She is growing up... I knew that she would not always go to bed at 7:00 (sometimes before 7:00), but I was used to it.

Well, it is 8:30 now and I think I am going to go to bed too. I am so exhausted and I could use some uninterrupted sleep.

Night!