Thursday, February 07, 2008

Yesterday morning all I could think about was eating some deviled eggs. I love deviled eggs, but don't usually make them because peeling all those eggs is too much trouble. Yesterday, however, nothing was going to stand in my way. I made a whole carton of them, thinking that it would be so convenient to just walk by and grab one (or five) out of the fridge during the day for snacks. And it was convenient, and wonderful, and delicious, until I started to get sick. Although eating deviled eggs is a pleasant experience, throwing them up is absolutely NOT, and now I fear I will never be able to eat deviled eggs again. The good news is that I am now in the second trimester, so the sickness should be ending soon. I hope, I hope.
Yesterday was the first day of implementing the new sleeping plan that is supposed to result in Noah's sleeping on his own. I got a Pack N Play from a friend and set it up in our bedroom. I watched carefully for his "window" of sleep, and as soon as I saw that he was getting sleepy, I prepared him for his morning nap. I sat on the edge of the bed and nursed him until he was almost asleep. I then gently placed him in the Pack N Play, told him "night night" and left the room. It felt weird to leave him in there and, honestly, pretty much like a waste of time. He has never been in a cradle or crib or anything like that in his whole short little life, so putting him in there and expecting him to think, "Oh right, she put me in this weird cage thing, and I guess I'm supposed to fall asleep in here," seems a little ridiculous. He played in there for about five minutes, then started to call out for me. I could picture him thinking, "Hey! You forgot about me! I know you didn't mean to do it, but you left me in this bedroom all alone and I'm stuck in this funny box." I went in and try to lay him back down, but he wasn't having it, so I picked him up and nursed him to sleep and of course then held him the whole time while he slept. Today I tried again, except he only lasted about ten seconds before he wanted to get out. At a loss for how to show him that he is actually supposed to sleep in there, I climbed into the Pack N Play (praying that it wouldn't collapse) and pretended to fall asleep. He climbed on me for a while while I "slept", and eventually I gave up because I was getting pretty uncomfortable in there and I knew there was no way he was going to just lie down and fall asleep. Now I'm sitting here at the computer while he sleeps soundly on my lap. Sigh. I knew this is going to be a long process, but I'm starting to think it's going to be not exactly long, but more like impossible.

3 comments:

amy h said...

Yeah, once you get past 4-6 months, it can be really hard to change sleep habits. It took forever for my first daughter to get used to the pack n play and crib. We just treated it like a fun place -- played in it and stuff. Then I gradually put her in there for naps. It would only be a minute or two at a time at first, but she gradually got used to it. With my second, I've been putting both girls in the crib, and we all read stories and play. They both like it, and it is helping the little one get used to the crib. Good luck!

Stephanie said...

What about putting him in there once he is asleep so he wakes up in there?

(I'm typing this with Anthony sleeping on my lap. LOL)

Good luck! :-)

Anonymous said...

Gasp.......... you've returned!!! I'm so excited!!! And totally laughing as I picture you in a pack n' play. Topher tried something similar with our toddler bed, and it sounds like Noah and Thumbelina are on the same page.