Sleep, sweet sleep!

It's been an amazing and agonizing week all at the same time.  And it's all because of a little thing called SLEEP!  

I took heed to my friend who a few months back established a sleep routine with her own daughter and highly encouraged (well kinda forcefully encouraged) me to do the same with Liz.  I have to say that I'm the kind of mom who loves to cuddle with my babies and I've always been blessed with cuddly babies, I know some babies aren't but all 5 of mine have been.  I've spent the past 13 1/2 years co-sleeping with my kids, by the time they are 2 they are in their own beds but up until then I've really, mostly (except the nightly interupted sleep for everyone involved from being kicked or pushed or laid across), enjoyed having them sleep in my bed or in a pack-n-play next to my bed... my husband however has never enjoyed this and for 13 1/2 years has begged me to get them in their own rooms and bed.... hum... well, here goes...

I started the week off, reluctant, ready for a miserable and emotionally stressful week of listening to my baby cry in her crib until she fell asleep.  This week is spring break for the older kids so it's the perfect week to be sleep deprieved in the Connors home, for all of us to endure this horrible procedure, right?  Monday came and went and I just didn't even try... a call from my friend came, "I'll do whatever you need, do you want me to come over and read you the book while she's screaming, stay the night, call me when ever you need me, I'll do what ever to help you with this".  FINE!  I'll give it a try tomorrow...
Tuesday Day 1
10:30 AM morning nap comes... start the classical music, kisses and hugs and I love you, place in crib, turn and leave, shut the door, screaming starts immediately as I place her in her crib... Oh, the agony, I cross the hall to my room, sit on my bed with my older daughters... both of who are just shocked that I'm even trying this... the screaming stops after 10-12 minutes.  Then nothing, not a sound.  I panic, "I'm just going to peek in to make sure she's okay"... Faith says "no you're not"... I wait and wait....and wait, but nothing happens, no crying, screaming, or any other death sounds at all... 45 minutes later she wakes, happy as can be.  I'm totally in shock.  3:30 PM Afternoon nap... same routine, she cries for 3 minutes, sleeps for an hour.  That night, 8:00 PM same routine, I'm a mess, I pull a blanket from my bed and 2 pillows and proceed to camp outside her door, just in case she needs me in the night... Nothing, less than 30 seconds of crying, I can hear her in the crib, I peek in and she is standing facing the opposite wall, nodding off to sleep, waking herself as her head and body start to fall to the mattress but she wakes and grabs tighter, until after 8-10 of these episodes, she finally allows her little body to slump in the corner of the crib, sitting up with her face pushed against the bed rails and sleeps for 3 hours... I'm so very uncomfortable on the floor so I stand up and decide, "fine, I guess she CAN do this" and proceed to "make her more comfortable" by repositioning her body to a flat and normal position, as I do she wakes, and my heart says "enough, she's been through enough" and I take her to my bed for the night to save her  from such a horrible life... until she wakes at 3:00 AM screaming for a "BA BA" and hear my friends voice echo in my head "she doens't need one" and I kiss her and hug her and put her in her crib, turn on music , shut the door and head for my bed... where I sleep peacefully for 4 hours as does she after less than 30 seconds of crying....

Day 2
Morning nap 2 minutes of crying 1 1/2 hours of sleep
Afternoon nap 30 seconds of crying 1 hour of sleep
Night time... I can do this.... I can do this.... 11 straight hours of sleep for Liz... mom, tossed and turned around 1 and 3 and again at 5... but I didn't cave.  Pat myself on the back.

Day 3
Morning nap less than 2 minutes of crying 1 1/2 hours of sleep

Afternoon nap Oh, crap we went to Chuck E Cheese knew we had to be back by 3 for her nap but she fell asleep in the car for 20-30 minutes, called my friend "it has to be at least 45 minutes to count as a nap, put her in her bed at the regular time"... SERIOUSLY??  That's a joke right, a really cruel joke, she will NEVER sleep NOW... I've had 5 kids I know these things... FINE, I give in... 4-5 minutes of crying and an hour of sleep later, I have to shake my head because I'm so not sure about how this happened.

8:00 PM Night time... 11 1/2 hours of sleep, had to wake her at 7:30 AM because I just couldn't take it anymore.

Day 4
THIS REALLY WORKED... 1 1/2 hours this morning already and I have a happy baby! 

Call me a bad mom for all the years I could have been doing this... I wonder how many free hours of my own time I gave away because I was too stubborn to put my kids in their beds... them sleeping with me was totally for me and never about them, yeah sure I said "what if they stop breathing in the night, I need to hear that" and "they sleep better next to me" both totally lies, how can you "hear" them stop breathing?  Lame, I know!  The truth is kids need there sleep... this has been proof of that to me... I'm humbled and shocked all at the same time.  Only took me 5 babies to figure it out. 

Go Liz!!!  I LOVE YOU LIZ!