Sleep

Oh Penelope, my lovely, beautiful, charming, sweet daughter.

We need to talk. I need a full night's sleep. Badly. please, oh please, baby girl. Let me sleep. I had hope about a week ago when we had four days where you did indeed sleep from 10pm until 5am. I was a new woman. I had energy. When I was forced to skip a nap, I could do it without becoming the crankiest mother around.

And then I went back to work...

And then you decided that you were cool with it as long as you could spend extra time with me during the night.

So- where does that leave us?

Somehow we are back to am 11pm, 2am, and 5am feeding... and then wakefulness from 5am to 7am.

You sleep next to me in a pack in play. This is a HUGE improvement over when you slept with us in bed (though you still do end up there from time to time). I say improvement because I seriously feared for your safety. I'm a NICU nurse after all. But, I'll admit, one of life's sweetest feelings is waking up with your baby snuggled in your arms. But again, not safe... so into the pack and play you've gone. Thankfully, you seem happy there.

But, sweetheart, we need you to be in a crib. And sleep in the crib. ALL NIGHT LONG. Not just for 2 hours and call it quits. We are hoping to move you into your sister's room by summer and you'll need a crib for that.

So, what I'm saying is this: we've got a problem. No, wait. I have a problem. It all really is my fault that you are having difficulty with sleeping. For the first two months of your life, I was on survival mode. I did whatever it took to get you comfortable, keep you quiet, and let us both sleep. I never took the time to teach you to sleep simply because I didn't have the time to do it.

But now, it's a priority. We both need it. I'm throwing out all the techniques I used for Evelyn. They worked for her beautifully but it is obvious you are a different lady so we will try a different approach.

I love you Penelope and, together, with love,understanding and patience, we will conquer this task of sleep education.