After the childbirth class, Corey and I talked about it, and we decided that co-sleeping was the way to go. It would mean more sleep for both of us if our baby didn't have to cry as much at night to get our attention when they need something.
Then we had our baby...two months early. We came home from the hospital after his delivery, and slept in the same bed, without our baby. It was strange, no belly, no baby. In the weeks that followed I yearned for the chance to snuggle in bed with my little bambino. I was a NICU mom, which meant that I got to pump my breast milk, hold him while a machine slowly fed him breastmilk through a tube, and then put him back in his plastic crib box when I was done. There was no snuggling and nursing, falling asleep together, laying with him on my chest, embracing my motherhood.
The day finally came when we could bring home our baby and have him all to ourselves, as well as being with him at night, which we were not used to. There was an entire staff of nurses that helped to look after him 24/7. We were released and left to our own devices as parents.
I was aware when we brought Carrick home that he was used to sleeping by himself. I had bought a bassinet for him to sleep in, just in case he didn't like sleeping next to his parents. I changed out the mattress out as soon as I purchased it. Not only was it plastic smelling, but it was also barely an inch and a half deep. I know babies aren't supposed to have a lot of cushioning for fear of suffocation, but this mattress couldn't possibly provide any cushioning at all. It looked really uncomfortable. So I switched the mattress out for some dense foam I had from a package that had been delivered. It wasn't soft enough for him to smush down and suffocate, but it allowed enough cushioning that I felt he would be comfortable.
The first two nights that he was home, he slept in the bassinet. He didn't really like it, but I was afraid to co-sleep with him because he was only 5 lbs. When my midwife came to check on us the third day home, I asked her when she thought I should start co-sleeping. She said, "Right now." That night I took the pregnancy pillow (The BIG one, shaped like a U)and nestled Carrick between me and the pillow. It kept him elevated, and I could hear and feel him breathing. He relaxed, and so did I.
I won't lie and say that it was super easy at the begining, becuase it wasn't. It took Carrick a few days to totally adjust to life without monitors and beeps and tubes. The first two nights he cired a bit. I found out later that he needed a little more noise in the house, like a soft radio or something becuase that's what he was used to. After a couple nights, he settled into a pattern and after a week he was on my sleep schedule.
After the initial adjustment of getting him used to us and our house, co-sleeping proved to be very beneficial for the family. I would wake up in the middle of the night, go to the bathroom, come back and he would just be starting to squirm around and start the smallest little bits of crying. I would nurse him right away, and he would fall asleep. Then I would soon follow suit.
I am convinced that Carrick did pick up on my sleep rythm. He and I would go to bed around 9 or 9:30 and wake up around 8:30 or 9 in the morning. So, even though I would be up to nurse him, I still managed to recieve 10-11 hours of sleep each night. I was a well rested mama!
Next time I will discuss the steps we took as a family to move Carrick in the direction of his own bed.
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