I've been having more than my usual number of brain farts and senior moments lately, likely induced by Evelyn's interesting choice in sleep patterns. Like an idiot, I had been patting myself on the back for having a baby that slept so well. Now I know better.
Those first few weeks were awesome. Heck, the beginning of this week was pretty good, too. We had a couple of nights where she'd be out for five hours, wake up to nurse, then out for another four. What bliss! But something happened in Evelyn's brain making her more alert during the day (wonderful!), more interactive and generally calmer because now she's interested enough in her surroundings that she wants to hang out and look at them. She's also smiling (it's not gas, dammit!) and cooing, welcome changes from earlier.
But... Her interest in her surroundings is making her more alert. All. The. Time. Unless, of course, someone is holding her or she's sleeping somewhere considered unsafe. I say considered unsafe because I really disagree that sleeping on our bed, particularly while we're not in it is unsafe; however, it's been pounded into me enough by everyone else other than her pediatrician that babies sleeping on the bed = bad, bad parent. Funny, though, that my pediatrician is so accepting of getting babies to sleep however you have to, co-sleeping and sleeping alone in the parents' bed for naps included, but many other people are not. My kid's pediatrician has made me feel good about every single decision I've made so far about my children while others have often been less than supportive. Go figure. I think it's largely cultural. She's from the Middle East where family beds are more common. My husband's family is the same - beds are usually custom-made depending upon the size of the family.
Anyway, Evelyn is also suddenly extremely sensitive to her tactile environment. She refuses to sleep without a hat, will not sleep without a swaddle, a particular blanket has to be placed in a certain location, etc. Unfortunately, what she's "sensitive" to changes every day and only unveils itself after several sleep deprived nights of wondering what the hell is going on. One day it was the hat. Another day we found out about the blanket. A few days ago it was the absence of white noise. Today I figured out that a seam in her bouncinette had been keeping her awake the past day. My opinion? We've given birth to Stewie #2 and she's screwing with me.
2 comments:
About the co-sleeping thing: there are ways to do it relatively safely. And babies get hurt in cribs. It's like the "caution, contents may be hot" warning on your coffee--things have to be spelled out before some people pay attention to possible problems.
Both kids slept in the bed with us occasionally. I'd make sure there were no excess pillows or big comforters or anything nearby that could smother them (I was a toaster oven for months after giving birth, so I never needed lots of comforters anyway).
There were nights when it was safer to have a baby in our bed than to have one of us completely sleep-deprived attempting to sit upright in a chair holding the baby. If you fall asleep in that chair, you're much more likely to drop the baby...
Of course, these days, we can barely keep the kids out of our bed. They both climb in around 6 every morning (any earlier than that and we send them back to their own rooms to keep from being kicked so badly in our sleep).
Co-sleeping was so convenient and reassuring sometimes. After Ragsy had RSV, his lungs filled with fluid every time he even got a cold, sometimes requiring a breathing treatment. Having him right there and knowing right away if there was a problem was definitely the best thing we could have done.
I have no qualms about having Evelyn in bed with us eventually, though her size does make me nervous. She's so tiny! I forgot how tiny and delicate they are at first.
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