Transitioning from co-sleeping: one week into it.

Mallory has been a whole week in her toddler bed!  I am so proud of her, her daddy & myself too for being strong all week.  There were a couple of very rough nights, but I would say overall the process (so far, we still have long way to go) has been easier than I expected. 

The first night (last Monday), we went through our normal nighttime routine.  I had talked up her bed all afternoon to her & she picked out two pillows & two blankets to go in her bed.  When it was time to lay down, she crawled right in like she knew what to do.  We said prayers, sang a song & read a book.  She fingered my hair like she always does while I sat on the floor right next to her bed.  She went to sleep in about 20 minutes & only woke twice through the night at 3 & 5.  Both times she woke up she called out for me & I went in there & sat next to her, let her finger my hair, & she was back out within 5-10 minutes.  I think we even had to wake her up the next morning to go to Granny's house.  I was amazed & ecstatic that the first night had gone so well.  I never in a million years thought it would go that good. 

Night two wasn't as easy.  She crawled in her bed when it was time to go night-night.  She doesn't seem to care where she sleeps at, I think she really likes her bed.  The problem is she wants Patrick or I (or both of us together, at times) to be with her.  She wasn't happy with me sitting next to her bed, she kept saying, "Mama lay down."  I gave in, & got in her bed with her.  She went to sleep like that about 45 minutes later & I snuck out once she was in a deep sleep.  She woke earlier on this night, by 12 I think, then pretty much every hour or two for the rest of the night.  I spent the majority of the night in her toddler bed & Patrick slept on the floor some.  That wasn't comfy at all. 

Night three was even worse.  She woke up every thirty minutes or so.  Patrick & I alternated getting up with her, but both of us got very little sleep all night.  I had to crawl back in her bed with her when I would go in there.  She also had a fever on this night (from teething I think, her canines are coming through), so that may have had something to do with her not sleeping one hour straight the whole night.  When I got off work on Thursday, I went to the library & checked out every single book they had on toddler or baby sleeping.  I was getting desperate & could not see an end in sight at this point.  I read & figured out that she has to be able to comfort herself back to sleep.  It's common for babies & toddlers to wake during the night, they all do it, the key is for them to go back on their own by self-soothing.  Well, Mallory's soother is my hair so we have our work cut out for us!

Thursday night, I decided to make a pallet on the floor for Patrick or I since I figured one of us would be spending A LOT of time in there.  I was right.  We didn't get her to sleep until 10 & she was awake by 11.  I tried to go back to bed twice after getting her to sleep, only for her to wake within 30 minutes.  By 12, I camped out on the pallet for the rest of the night.  At least that saved me from having to get up & down.  I could comfort her when she woke up by putting my arm around her, talking to her & of course, letting her play with my hair.  It was another long night without me getting any sleep but the one positive was, I didn't have to get in her bed all night.  She was able to be comforted with me being beside the bed.  Progress??  A baby step!

By Friday night, I was beyond exhausted.  Patrick took over for me the whole night so I'm not sure of all the details.  I slept like a log.  I think she slept until around 12 or so.  He went in & slept on the floor until 3 he said, then she woke up again around 6:30 for the day.  Overall, it seemed to be a much better night since she went over three hours without waking.  She ended up going to sleep in the car during the day Saturday on our way home.  I took her out of her carseat & moved her into her bed where she napped for over an hour by herself.  The Saturday before, I put her in her bed the same way  (after falling asleep in carseat) & she only slept 15 minutes.  More progress!  I finally felt like she was getting used to sleeping alone.

The sixth night, she went to sleep within thirty minutes (the fastest, since night one).  She didn't wake up until 3, went right back to sleep without me having to lay down beside her.  I just sat next to her for a couple of minutes.  The same thing around 5:30, then she woke for the day around 6:30.  I was happy with that!  Also, she is napping in her bed right now & been asleep for over two hours!
 
I feel like we still have a long way to go, but there has been head-way made.  I am trying to do it gradually as we have tried crying it out methods before when she was sleeping in her crib, only to end up co-sleeping.  I'm going to stick to this approach for a few weeks & as long as there is progress I'm happy with that.  It may get to a point where we end up crying it out, we will see.  I was very against co-sleeping when I was pregnant & when Mallory was a newborn & small infant.  I have learned to never say never because obviously my words came back to bite me.  We co-slept for exactly one year, & while that wasn't what I had planned to do as a parent, Patrick & I both grew to love it.  It was time we had to bond & reconnect with her, since we are both away from her for a lot of the day.  I will always cherish those memories & no matter what the outcome of the transition, I will never regret it.  You never get time back & she is only a baby one time.  We do feel that she is old enough now where it's time to learn to sleep on her own in her bed, she is getting bigger & our bed is not!  I'm just happy right now that we all survived week one & aren't going to give up because in the wee hours of the night, it is very, very tempting to do.