Sleeping Situation taken care of... for now

Kirsten is now 2 1/2 weeks old and for the whole 2 1/2 weeks we have struggled with her sleeping at night. We would have good nights and bad, going from hours of sleep to waking every hour. Poor Todd would have a hard time getting through the day because she would wake him up with her screams or grunts at least every hour.

I tried swaddling, elevating her mattress, laying her on her side, putting warm jammies on her, increasing her formula amount... I tried it all. It appeared that elevating was the answer, she was doing better when her mattress was raised (we put towels under her mattress in the pack n play). She always slept well in her swing, so it made sense that this would work for her. However, that was not enough. She still woke up, unswaddled, and crying.

So I took it upon myself to find something that would help her situation. I ordered the Nap Nanny and anxiously waited for its arrival. Finally the day arrived and we decided to try it out at nap times. It went well, she would nap for over an hour or so during the day. However, we weren't able to use it at night because it didn't fit into the pack n play. I would have moved her to her nursery but we did not have safe monitors at the time, and I was not ready for her to be out of our room quite yet. Another solution had to be found.

Last weekend my mom visited and watched Kirsten while we went out with some friends for dinner. That evening she insisted on keeping her in the living room with her. We decided that she could sleep in the car seat since she was napping so well in it earlier in the day. We came home, anxious to hear about how the night was going, to find a sleeping baby. We went to bed, and I would wake up waiting to hear her cry, but we never did! In the morning I asked how things went and mom replied that she slept well, and only woke up twice, wanting to feed and needing to be changed. Maybe we found our little miracle...

The next night we put the car seat in her pack n play and prayed that lightning would strike twice. And you know what, it did! Thank god! She slept from 11pm - 3:30am, 4am - 6:30, and 8am - 10am! I felt refreshed and like I had finally done my job as a mom. I was able to figure my child out and out smart her.

Last night was basically the same. She slept from 11pm - 3:30am, 4am - 8am. She even has been learning to settle herself. Instead of me running to her side with every peep or whimper, I allow her to figure it out on her own. I certainly don't believe in the "cry it out" method, but there are times when you have to realize, as a parent, that your kid needs to do it on their own. So this was Kirsten's first test. I have been trying this out for the past few days and she has been doing well with it. She settles and enjoys her swing or bouncer... something I thought she hated since day one. It is amazing the extra amount of sleep I get by allowing her to fall back asleep on her own, instead of me feeling the need to rush to her and rock her back to sleep.

We will see how the week goes, but I may try to put her in her nursery this weekend. I am sure the car seat will simply be moved to her crib, but that is fine with me. If she prefers the snuzzler over her crib mattress, then let the girl be!