I Want Her to Need Me

I have FinAlLy started to make the jump for Grace to sleep in her own bed instead of ours.

Go Me!!

Well, not at night. 

And not really in her bed.

Let me explain...

Her nursery (and crib) is upstairs while our room is downstairs. 

I CaN't make her sleep up there all alone, so she has had a pack 'n play in our room since she was born:

One week old, sleepy, tiny, angelic, perfect baby Grace.

She started off sleeping in there every night. 

Since I'm breastfeeding, I would get so tired in the middle of the night getting up with her that I started just laying her down next to me in bed.

It is SoOo much easier to pick her up from the bed where she is sleeping right next to me than having to get up and walk over to get her, AND stay awake enough to go put her back in her bed after she eats.

The whole time I was pregnant, people would tell me the number one mistake parents make is letting their babies sleep in bed with them.

Not because it can be harmful to the baby, but because you'll have a five year old kicking you and taking up the whole bed before you know it.

I didn't listen, and I'm still not convinced that this is as horrible as they all make it seem (although I also don't have a five year old yet).

Soon after I started this,  I started napping in my bed with her in the afternoons because it was Oh sO sWeEt to cuddle with her. 

For the past couple of months now, she's only been sleeping in our bed ALL the time. 

I'm slowly working on getting her back into her own "bed".

So far, she's been taking her afternoon naps in there.

She has also been hanging out in there when she's watching TV or playing with her toys.

I'm hoping that this makes her a little more comfortable with it, so she'll be able to sleep in there longer.

 I've been putting her down in there at night when she goes to bed, but she'll only last about an hour. 

I'm hoping as she gets more used to being on her own, she'll sleep longer and longer by herself each night until she's back to sleeping in there all night. 

It kind of makes me sad though.

I want her to want to sleep with me. 

I want her to need me. 

I'm not ready for her to push me away and want to be independent just yet.

I have read ToNs of books and some say that you should use the 'Cry It Out' method (tried that once...I was the one that was crying), and some say that "co-sleeping" is perfectly healthy for a breastfeeding baby.

My mom keeps telling me that I should just do whatever makes Grace and me happy.

Isaac loves having her in bed with us (it's so awesome to turn over and night and get to kiss those sweet little cheeks and snuggle up close to her).

Society is what is making me want to change our habits.

Well, that and the fact that baby girl is about to crawl/walk any day now, and I've heard horror stories about babies waking up quietly and crawling off the bed to hurt themselves.

How do you know what is best for your family?

I guess you don't.

You just do the best you can and hope that everything ends up ok.

We'll see how it goes...