sleepytime

The co-sleeper is a great piece of gear. One side drops down and it saddles up to the bed, creating a level extension so that you can easily reach over and grab or soothe the baby at night. It has served us well for the last four months and, even if I had a nursery, I would still use it. Recently, however, Sawyer has taken to swinging a leg over the side ... a casual gesture but one that has me imagining he will, somehow, suddenly catapult himself over the short edge in the middle of the night. In addition, I think he senses my presence next to him and wakes up shortly after I go to bed, wanting attention and company. He produces a low and annoying whine that he can maintain for a remarkably long time, driving us crazy. Eventually, he seems to end up sleeping in bed with me every night. (Please don't call the SIDS police.) While I love cuddling with my bumpkin, this situation simply will not do. I've seen far too many mom friends struggle to get the toddler out of the bed. So, we are weaning him off the co-sleeping situation. I have converted the co-sleeper into a bassinet (it also functions as a pack-and-play/changing table/playpen) with four tall walls instead of three and pushed the whole thing back against the wall in our bedroom. This means I have to get up to soothe him in the middle of the night, but maybe he can't sense my every stir. In another week or so, my plan is to move the bassinet into Justin's room until we get to the new house around Xmastime and then he can upgrade to the crib (which Scott has fully assembled so it will not fit through the door of the bedroom without dismantling).

It's been so long since this has happened that I hardly knew what to do. Sawyer passed out in my lap, mid-shake of the toy. And this after he had just awoken from a three-hour nap.