Co Sleeping Life

Do you co-sleep? Over here we do part time co-sleeping and there are days when i think that this direction in Max's care was a mistake (usually after a bad night) and of course, there are days when im all about this and glad that I do this.

Positions that apply to us:

• Roundhouse kick
• the Neck Scarf
• Snow Angels
• H is for Hell
• Jazz Hands
• The Dog House
• The Stalker

Many months ago, we did full cry it out (CIO) session (as in shut the door and not to return until the am), it worked and we got lengthy, uninterrupted sleeps. Then as with everything baby, came changes- he started to wake up earlier..and earlier..and earlier (damn time change too)...and we found ourselves back at the should we change directions or retrain via CIO? we changed directions. My definition of part time co sleeping means that for naps, husband or I co sleep with Max. As well, we consider his first cry of the night as a summon and thus one of us gets off our comfy king sized bed and go into his room, pick him up from the crib (he's usually jumping up and down), stick a soother in his mouth, and settle into a spare twin bed in his room. 

For naps, we get about 2-3 hours of sleep time. Gene tries to get some shut-eye or at least diffuse from the morning, and when it's my turn, I am on some electronic gadget catching up with people and whatever is hot and new online. For night sleep, we do our usual bed time routine and then plop him in the crib and shut the door. It's really a CIO session that lasts anywhere from 5secs to 60 minutes with no common denominator. i find myself feeling quite agitated when it gets close to the 60 minute mark as it's not really a cry..but a whine..pause..whine..pause...so i just suck it up and get into the room. After he falls asleep, we get 2 hours (current) to sometimes even 10 hours (rarely) of sleep before he calls. I figure by letting him CIO he at least can teach himself how to self soothe and by going in later on, but he knows we're there when needed. i do wonder if i am confusing him by doing this technique?

The positives of all this, i dont have to hear Max cry for that long or feel SUPER guilty about it. CIO hurts all involved.  when i am at his bedside he's i-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y quiet and sleeps. I love how i can peak at him pretending to be asleep and watch what he's doing- when he sees me at his bedside, he's pretty respectful of a sleeping individual, sure he's restless and rolling around but he waits until eyes are fully open and readiness to interact before he makes any major peeps to start off the day. i find it pretty cute too when he sticks his face right up close and personal (like nose to nose) a few times over night just to see what's up i guess? or get a direction on what he should be doing? No idea! Max wakes up 9/10 times in a good mood and once he sees my eyes open, he's all smiles and cutesy wootsy. Max is only this small for so long right? i just want to soak him in! these are the good days!

The negatives are more along Gene's alley, he's a lightweight sleeper- he just can't and doesnt get adequate sleep. Co sleeping sucks when you're a light sleeper because toddlers don't sleep like logs...they're gymnasts! Gone are the days when swaddling was an option. Everything about the above picture rings true for full time cosleepers, and even as a part time cosleeper, i can relate to the stated positions. A rough night, makes for a rough day for dad, and lets just say he's thankful when i can take over! As for me, im a middleweight sleeper, i can sleep but i can still be woken up by the gymnast-child, and then go back to sleep. It's never deep, but i feel good enough to carry on once the day starts.

womp womp...

not sure if this post was a rant or a rave, but my saving grace is knowing that at some point the bed rail will go down, he can get out of the crib, open the door, walk into our room, and hop into our bed when he wants. In fact, im absolutely looking forward to this day and welcome it and him with open arms. 2 years? 3 years? 4 years? Sooner than later please!