Proud

So proud of my big girl. She is doing great with the crib sleeps. She is taking almost all of her naps in her crib, unfortunately these naps are much shorter than if she was on mommy but it just means she takes a few more right now and is a lot crankier mid-day. Twice in the 3 days she's been sleeping in her crib she has had a breakdown and all of them are in parking lot locations. Poor girl. But then she crashes and I mean CRASHES... in and out of the car seat, into the house and down into the crib without a peep!

Yesterday she took 3 naps in her crib each 30 minutes (the norm) and one 45 minute nap!! So hopefully she's getting comfortable in there. I did let her crash on mommy once yesterday and it too was only about 30 minutes.

She no longer freaks out when you put her in the crib, the timing doesn't have to be perfect anymore but close. For the most part she needs to be asleep, if you put her in awake then you get to wait about an hour before she needs a few pats on the bottom to put her out. Some times she does it all herself..its all in the timing or the mood I guess.

She now has a projection mobile with sounds and music that she can look up at. She loves it...the first night it was all to exciting so we went back to the seahorse. We keep a floor fan on in the room at all sleep times, the white noise is great for blocking out our noises, the tv (which is right under her bed), and the dogs. She has started to talk to us at the brink of sleepy time and you would think she was wide awake but its her way of winding down I guess.

Night time bed time has been extended to a bit later when she's really ready. She sleeps about 3 hours straight the first stretch and then goes to bed with me. Next week she will get put back down in the crib. I stay in the room with her per the method we have chosen. It is good for us and for her. She still has mommy right there to soothe her and help her feel more comfortable in her new environment so before she reaches the cry mode she is soothed and back to sleep. I have decided to try all new things during nap time and then ease them to night time sleep. She can handle changes during the day although she might not like them, but nighttime is too sensitive for ultra crankiness to try and introduce new things.

Her startle reflex is easing but I think it still keeps her from sleeping longer stretches. We got a woombie (thanks Melissa for sharing this product with us). Madison hates it, but I'm going to try a tip from Melissa and put it on her when she's already asleep. Not sure if this will work cause she wakes up so easily but I'll give it a try later today or this weekend and see. If not oh well she'll figure it out.

No matter the little obstacles we still have in this department I am so proud of our little girl. She has exceeded my expectations with taking to her crib naps and actually sleeping in it at night. I expected major drama and big tears but I have been pleasantly surprised. She is such a great baby and such a joy. We couldn't be luckier or more proud.