sleep baby sleep

Thank Jesus that Alice has been a good nighttime sleeper from early on. I've mentioned before I didn't really try to get her on a schedule and she sort of naturally fell into one that evolved and improved by and large. And while she has been a great nighttime sleeper, she has always been resistant to napping and we've rounded a corner even with that. So let me tell you about her daily sleep habits because well, it's kind of a big deal. 

She wakes up most of the time around 8-9am very quietly. I only know she's awake because I hear her seahorse going off. She loves that seahorse. She wakes up and plays in her crib with her plushes for a few minutes before she starts making noises and starting to demand attention. It's not uncommon to hear the seahorse and wait for things to escalate and find myself waiting over 20 minutes. When she's ready and she's grunting then I'll go in there and get her and change her and give her the morning bottle. If I go in there before she's escalated in noise level, I'll reach out for her and she will refuse to come to me. It's like she needs her quiet time in the morning alone before she's ready for people. The bad thing about this is that I have to leave for work around 8/8:30 and if she's not up then I won't get to see her until I get home from work. But... it is nice that she sleeps in for her daddy and me on the weekends.

She naps twice a day for 1.5-2 hours. Naps were a legitimate nightmare around here but we stopped giving in to her and she got the message. We would rock her forever and then put her down and she'd start crying and whining and nothing was wrong. Eventually we just let her cry and it never got insane, she'd fall asleep when she was ready. It sucked though, I hated the feeling of please stay asleep please stay asleep as I was laying her in her crib and then her waking up and crying. Who wants to hear their baby crying? Nobody. In the past few months, when it's naptime we go in there, change her, give her the paci, turn on the white noise, and hold her a little bit then put her in her crib while she's still awake only now, she will just lay there quietly without whining and will get herself to sleep. Miracles happen ladies and gents. For a long time she would cry and whine even for a few seconds before she'd fall asleep and now she just stays there quietly, no complaining. I thought these days would never come but they finally did. I would hear stories of 'oh i put him down and he just goes to bed' and think well, that'll never happen to us. And it does now! Hurrah!

Naptime gets trickier when we're out. We try to time things so she's in the car seat during peak naptimes and sometimes she'll sleep. She's also gotten used to napping in the stroller but she's not now nor ever will be that kid that knocks out and just sleeps. She fights it as much as she can and when she's in her room with lights off in a crib, she is just out of options so she sleeps. In a stroller while at a park or wherever is just too many excuses to play or smile or manipulate people into entertaining her enough to stay awake.

I'm sure we're going to be dropping a naptime at some point but right now she needs them both. The early one's signs are so obvious now but the afternoon ones are a crapshoot. Sometimes she'll start at 4 and sleep 'til 6 and be good to go for bedtime but sometimes she fights it til 5 and sleeps so long we have to wake her so she'll sleep at night.

We put her to bed around 8 or 9 which is a little late and she definitely shows signs that she needs to be in bed closer to 8 but I get home by 7 on good days and I want to be able to see my baby at least once during a day so I keep her up. This is probably why she sleeps until 8/9 and I have to leave before she's up but at least I get a few hours with her in the evening instead of just minutes in the morning.

They say to make your baby's schedule work for your lifestyle and that's what works for us and know what? Everyone is happy. Alice is a perfect wonderful little human and we're happy.

Happy. Happy. Happy.