Last night, at about 10:30, my little Jelly Belly started crying. She does this occasionally. Sometimes, when she wakes from sleeping, the best thing to do is to leave her alone, safe in her crib, and let her fall back asleep. If we go to her, she wants to play, charming me and her dad with her snuggles and smiles. And then I let her play for a while, and she stays up way to long. And bad habits form. So usually, we let her cry for a few minutes before we decide whether or not we need to go in. I was pretty hard core about this with Moe, but with Jelly, Jeff has to be the enforcer.
But last night, I heard her. Jeff was doing dishes. (Stop to contemplate that for a moment. My husband was doing dishes. I'm a lucky girl.) But, because of the dishes, he didn't hear her. I thought maybe if I could comfort her before she got too upset, she would go to sleep quickly. So I went in.
And oh, it was worth it. My baby girl was so sleepy, and I sat with her in my arms in the rocking chair. She fell asleep on me, which she hasn't done since she was born and would only sleep that way. I wasn't so thrilled about it then. But last night it was bliss. She was heavy and calm, with just the slightest snore from the dry air. I couldn't get up. I wasn't afraid I would wake her, but I simply didn't want to be anywhere else.
When I have to get up in the night for my children I do the same thing you do, rock them to sleep in the rocking chair next to the cradle.
ReplyDeleteIf I hear them, I pick them up. Both my kids would just want rocking/nursing after they learned days vs nights. It's easier this time around since Dale Jr sleeps so much more, but I do try to savor the moments - not so easy at 1:30 AM!
ReplyDeleteI want to press the "like" button.
ReplyDelete