Cosleeping, Cribs & Doing What Feels Right

Tonight I put Gretchen down to sleep in her crib (in our bedroom) for the first time.

She has slept in it for short periods of time previous to this, however it's the first time that I've got her to fall asleep (in the sling while nursing) and have successfully transferred her to the crib without waking her and having to nurse her down in our bed.

Does this spell the end of cosleeping? Not exactly. I just want to give her the opportunity to try out the crib and see if she enjoys it -- I hope she'll know eventually that it's a happy place to lay, rest, sleep and listen to music (or her sleep sheep).

A few days ago I moved Gretchen from our bed to the crib for a short period of time when I went to sleep, however, we brought her back into bed with us upon her first waking so I could nurse her to sleep beside me.

I think this will continue to be our method.

I do love sleeping with her and will probably take part in some form of cosleeping for the next few years -- it just feels right to have her close at night. Lately, however, we've been finding that we wake her up more and more at night when we move around, resulting in sleepless nights and a crabby mama/baby duo the next morning. (The boy could sleep through a tornado.)

So for now, our new routine (hopefully) will be to put her in the crib once she falls asleep (either in the sling or while being nursed) and then to move her to our bed once she wakes in the night for some milk time. My thoughts are that we'll both get a little more sleep this way.

Sometime in the future perhaps she will fall asleep without being nursed, but for now, she's my girl, and I'm keeping her close.

A woman on the bus said to me today: "Babies are like vegetables: if you leave them alone they will spoil."

This rings so true to me, especially in a world where everyone is hopping mad to tell you how keeping your children in your arms, beds and against your breast is what will spoil them.

I want to do what's right for my babe, and if that means she never sleeps in her crib all night? Fine. If it means she wants to sleep in our bed til she's ready for a "big girl bed"? Sure. If it means she loves the crib and doesn't need to nurse to sleep? Okay.

If it works for her -- it works for me.

I think the world would be a happier place if we all just listened to our hearts & did what felt right.

It's all about doing what feels right.

Much love, mes amis.

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