Actually, it's just the tale of one mom and that mom is ME! They say that every child is different and I'm beginning to think the way you parent each child is different too. Or at least it is in some ways...
When we brought Nory home from the hospital, she slept in a bassinet by our bed (a sorta expensive wooden one).............................for ONE night only. Haha/Whoops! Yep, I remember telling Phil that NOT ONLY did we need a crib in Nory's own room, but we also needed an adorable bassinet for her to sleep in during the first several weeks. And since Phil knows way better than to argue with a pregnant (first time mama!) lady, the arrangement I envisioned came true! Too bad said arrangement made the financial output so unjustifiable. Haha/WHOOPS! It's just that Nory's little grunts and moans were driving me crazy and I couldn't get any sleep with her in the same room as us. In fact, I even contemplated turning off the baby monitor some nights because it had the same effect as an in-room baby at times. Anyways, Nory was relocated to a crib in her own room and stayed in there from that point forward. Money was wasted, but sanity was saved so....whatever.
With Jet, things are SO MUCH DIFFERENT! I still wake up to every single noise she makes (sometimes she giggles in her sleep and it's the sweetest thing ever!), but this time around I just can't move the girl to any place on her own. Not because I no longer value sleep. Not because there's no other place for her to go (we have a baby-bed-like contraption in almost every room of the house), but because.......I don't know. Sleep deprivation and all, I just can't. Maybe it has to do with her being born early. Or maybe it's because I realize how fast these smile-in-their-sleep days go by. Nonetheless, I can't stop checking on her and, until I'm good and ready, she's staying beside me! And thanks to a darling couple in our building, there will be no more getting out of bed, sitting up in bed, or straining my eyes across a dark room to see Juliet's sweet face. The all-star couple lent us this glorious thing called a "co-sleeper bed" and it means that all I have to do is OPEN MY EYES and - BAM! - I can see Jet sleeping soundly beside me. (That, you guys, is the magic of different parenting ideas and the wonderful mamas who share them!)
I'm curious to see how our approach to parenting changes in regards to other things. I remember with Nory we were (or at least I was!) SUPER anti-pacifier. Then, with Jet, my opinions on it became much more flexible as I started to think that she might be the type that could benefit from a little extra soothing. And you know what? We bought some pacifiers and tried them out! Jet totally disliked them (or has so far), but if she HAD found comfort in using one, I would have been okay with it. It makes me wonder what all of these parenting decisions depend on. Is it prior experience? New knowledge? The children themselves? I have no idea. But I do know that parenting remains the most intriguing job ever. It's like I've never been so sure before but I've never second-guessed myself so much....
In other sleep-related topics of discussion, have you guys noticed how people become progressively LESS CUTE SLEEPERS as they grow older? I mean, at what point does the open mouth, snoring, drooling, sleeping face come into play? If you've ever been on a red eye, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about people! It ain't pretty. But newborns are. If only evolution decided to keep that quality forever more......
When we brought Nory home from the hospital, she slept in a bassinet by our bed (a sorta expensive wooden one).............................for ONE night only. Haha/Whoops! Yep, I remember telling Phil that NOT ONLY did we need a crib in Nory's own room, but we also needed an adorable bassinet for her to sleep in during the first several weeks. And since Phil knows way better than to argue with a pregnant (first time mama!) lady, the arrangement I envisioned came true! Too bad said arrangement made the financial output so unjustifiable. Haha/WHOOPS! It's just that Nory's little grunts and moans were driving me crazy and I couldn't get any sleep with her in the same room as us. In fact, I even contemplated turning off the baby monitor some nights because it had the same effect as an in-room baby at times. Anyways, Nory was relocated to a crib in her own room and stayed in there from that point forward. Money was wasted, but sanity was saved so....whatever.
With Jet, things are SO MUCH DIFFERENT! I still wake up to every single noise she makes (sometimes she giggles in her sleep and it's the sweetest thing ever!), but this time around I just can't move the girl to any place on her own. Not because I no longer value sleep. Not because there's no other place for her to go (we have a baby-bed-like contraption in almost every room of the house), but because.......I don't know. Sleep deprivation and all, I just can't. Maybe it has to do with her being born early. Or maybe it's because I realize how fast these smile-in-their-sleep days go by. Nonetheless, I can't stop checking on her and, until I'm good and ready, she's staying beside me! And thanks to a darling couple in our building, there will be no more getting out of bed, sitting up in bed, or straining my eyes across a dark room to see Juliet's sweet face. The all-star couple lent us this glorious thing called a "co-sleeper bed" and it means that all I have to do is OPEN MY EYES and - BAM! - I can see Jet sleeping soundly beside me. (That, you guys, is the magic of different parenting ideas and the wonderful mamas who share them!)
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| Easy peazy! One quick look and I know she's okay :) |
I'm curious to see how our approach to parenting changes in regards to other things. I remember with Nory we were (or at least I was!) SUPER anti-pacifier. Then, with Jet, my opinions on it became much more flexible as I started to think that she might be the type that could benefit from a little extra soothing. And you know what? We bought some pacifiers and tried them out! Jet totally disliked them (or has so far), but if she HAD found comfort in using one, I would have been okay with it. It makes me wonder what all of these parenting decisions depend on. Is it prior experience? New knowledge? The children themselves? I have no idea. But I do know that parenting remains the most intriguing job ever. It's like I've never been so sure before but I've never second-guessed myself so much....
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| There's a reason I posted a picture of JET sleeping and not ME! |
In other sleep-related topics of discussion, have you guys noticed how people become progressively LESS CUTE SLEEPERS as they grow older? I mean, at what point does the open mouth, snoring, drooling, sleeping face come into play? If you've ever been on a red eye, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about people! It ain't pretty. But newborns are. If only evolution decided to keep that quality forever more......
Sleeping is funny and wonderful. xo
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