Mission: Baby Bird in the Nest

As you know, we've had Bonnie in our room with us since day one. At first sleeping on us, but then graduating to a contour changing pad in between us. It's worked great for keeping her close and safe. She still doesn't sleep through the night, so the convenience couldn't be beat. However, as she started growing and developing, we started to see that the situation couldn't last long. I kept trying to stretch it out because, did I mention she doesn't sleep through the night?! When she learned to roll over, we started putting pillows on either side of the bed, just in case she rolled out while we weren't in the room. She never did, because she was too busy sleeping. However, there were a few instances when Johnathan woke up with a baby laying across his back in the wee morning hours. Then the other night Johnathan called me into the room. Bonnie was on her tummy on the bed, between her pad and a pillow looking back at me, faced the completely wrong direction! So not only did she roll off, she spun herself around 180 degrees. The changing pad has straps on it that we could use to hold her in place, but I was hesitant to use those when she's sleeping. As Johnathan said, "we need to do something about this."

The obvious solution is/was to use the perfectly good nursery across the hall. It's been ready for a baby since day one, but rarely been used for anything but changing diapers. Sure, there were a few times we used the crib for naps and/or baby corral but it was truly a wasted space. I tried to move her in there weeks ago after we got back from the beach when Johnathan declared he wanted his bed back. But she woke up crying several times and I declared she wasn't ready yet. So yesterday I decided to make an honest to God go at it, get serious about her sleeping in there, sacrifice my ability to doze while I get her back to sleep upon her inevitable wake-ups.

However, to make mommy feel better, I needed some supplies. After work, I went and bought a breathable baby bumper (cause she's already managed to get her limbs stuck between the bars several times), a wireless camera (so I won't have to go in and bother her if she's doing just fine), and a small fan (we use one in our room for white noise and to help keep cool, so she needed one). I had been going into our room and sitting on the bed with her, playing her CD, feeding her, and putting her to sleep with me sitting next to her to help her settle down. So I moved the process to her room, hoping she'd fall asleep during her bottle so that the transition to the crib would be easy. Of course, my luck doesn't go that way. She was wide awake once her bottle was done, so I laid her in her crib, turned on her mobile (it lights up, not the one above), and sat back down in the chair. I had her bedtime lovie and a blanket in the crib (not that she allows herself to be covered up, but it probably smelled familiar and I wanted her to be comforted by that). The new camera I bought can be watched on a phone or iPad, so I sat in the chair and watched her on the camera. Just to make sure she didn't get herself into any trouble. She stayed in place while the mobile was on, but once it stopped she started scooting around having a little crib party. Squealing, and scooting, and rolling around. She found the blanket and pulled it all of the place, I watched and made sure she didn't get wrapped up in it. At one point I stood up, and moved her back into position in the crib. A few minutes after that, she fell asleep.

She woke up at 12 and 4. I think I could have stretched the 12 out, she looked like she would have fallen back asleep, but I felt like I needed to feed her for my own comfort (if you catch my drift). But the big news story is that she slept until 7:30 which is 30 to 45 minutes later then she normally sleeps. Honestly, going in there to feed her 2 times wasn't that bad. The chair we have in there is comfy, and if I can just figure out how to cushion my head, maybe I can even doze a little bit. I have hopes that once she's used to being in there and isn't being disturbed by our sleep sounds she may even sleep through the night. I could be dreaming though (nice pun Wendy!). So at the risk of George W. Bushing it, I'll say, "Mission Accomplished!"