After many months of sleeping in our room, at first swaddled, and then as a co-sleeper, Benjamin has officially spent three nights in his own room in his crib. These pictures were from his first night (Friday night).
Night #1: He went to bed later than usual (midnight), then woke up within minutes of me laying him down. (This was after trying to get him to sleep at 10:30 PM, but with me quitting after 30 minutes of trying.) The first night it took him over an hour to quiet down. I went in the room in growing intervals, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. I'd love on him, cuddle him, and try to get him to nod back off. Once he finally gave it up, he stayed asleep about 2 hours, then woke up, 1.5 hours, woke up, slept 2 hours, etc. He nursed every 4 hours or so, which is about the norm. The crowning moment was about 4:30 AM when I was able to lay him down, and he barely whimpered (vs. screaming as if I had betrayed his very existence), and then went back to sleep.
Night #2: The next night was about the same as the first only he took a little less time to settle down. It was probably 11:30 or so. It felt like he cried longer though after I would leave him in our two hour intervals. And there was at least once I had to go retrieve a pacifier that I heard thrown to the floor. He ended up in bed with me about 6:30 AM because we were both exhausted, and that led to him sleeping in until about 10:00 AM which is usually unheard of in our house.
Night #3: The third time really must be the charm. He was asleep about 11:30-ish, and I was able to lay him in his bed with some protest, but overall his quieted down rather quickly. I was woken up around 3:30 AM, longer than his usual interval of time, and after rolling out of bed and starting to head his way, I was surprised to hear him quiet back down. He fell back asleep. He proceeded to sleep until about 9:45 AM. I, like any mother, checked on him a few times just to make sure he was still breathing. ;)
We'll just have to see how Night #4 goes! I have been laying him down after he falls asleep in my lap, and then I let him sleep on me a little while before putting him in his crib. I have that luxury since I'm officially off for the summer.
The process, although difficult for him, has also been difficult for me too. As much as I will enjoy getting more sleep, having my side of the bed back, and not having to worry about an active child burrowing under a pillow or crawling (soon to be walking) off the bed, I can't say the transition was necessarily wanted by me. I'd love to keep my cuddly sweet little boy beside me much longer. The biggest push in my mind was the worry that he would indeed hurt himself by crawling off the bed. Our bed is higher off the ground than most, and a baby diving from it to the hardwood floor would most likely end in a trip to the ER. I put his long-term safety over our need to cuddle. I'll just have to get it in smaller doses. More pictures to come (soon, hopefully).
