Wide awake at 3 AM
I love Baby C. He cracks me up. Since he's still not sleeping through the night (he still wakes up hungry every two to three hours) and hasn't quite started storing up his poops for one gigantic explosion one day (and he may not ever do it - not all babies do), it's inevitable that he will grunt and push and poop during one of his nighttime feedings.
Which means I have to change him. I can't very well let him sit in his own poop all night, even if it's for just a few hours.
So, after his 2:30 feeding (during which he grunted and pushed and pooped... loudly), it was time to change him. And all was fine, at first, since he tends to fall asleep while eating. I hurried to clean him up and get a new diaper on him, and I almost managed to finish without waking him. But just when I thought I was in the clear...
POP!
He opened his eyes wide and gave me an adorable toothless grin.
And, of course, when your baby smiles at you, you can't help but smile back.
Which then led to a smiling contest.
And it meant he was going to be wide awake for a while.
The end result is that he winds up sleeping in our bed about as much as he sleeps in his own. I can't play with him at 3 AM, his daddy can't play with him at 3 AM, and, quite frankly, no one should be awake at 3 AM!
One of these days he will sleep through the night, and he'll be in his own room the whole time. Until then, I'm going to treasure these late night/early morning moments with him as best as I can. After all, it comes with being a new parent. When else are bags under your eyes considered a badge of honor?
Comments
VFamily: If I don't keep a positive outlook, I would cry!
DebC: The only thing that's really frustrating about it is that I'm so tired when I'm at work! Thankfully, he hasn't done it since I wrote that post, but I'm with you - he's really lucky he's as cute as he is!
Cosleeping is okay. Cosleeping when he starts out the night in his own bed, and then winds up in yours, somehow, after a middle-of-night feeding, is okay. Eventually, he will sleep in his own bed all night. (Yes, it's true!!) For my babies, we made the break when they were between 8 & 10 months, when they got stronger and more physically capable and suddenly their presence in the bed kept all of us from getting enough sleep, instead of vice versa. But once I had more than one, partial cosleeping was the ONLY way ANY of us got anywhere near enough sleep, in those first few months.
Good luck to you.