and they all slept happily ever after

**Thank you SO much to everyone who participated in the Freshly Picked giveaway!  Cindy was the big winner.  I absolutely loved hosting a giveaway and hope to do it very soon!!

Let's talk about sleep, shall we.  Now any parent of a child at any age knows that this is a big topic, as babies go through different stages and change so quickly.  Plus, there's the discussion of where the baby sleeps.  Are they co-sleeping, in your room, or already in their crib?  Do you nurse or rock them to sleep or let them fuss?  And it feels like no matter which of these choices you choose to do, you feel a slight sense of judgement by those who do the opposite.  

One thing that surprised me when I became a mom was how much I wanted Nathan to be in bed with us.  I wasn't completely against co-sleeping, but I did not think it was quite right for us.  For the first month he slept on me (which I know is a huge no-no, but it was blissful).  We have the arms reach co-sleeper, which is basically like a basinet.  It can be raised to reach the height of your bed, and then also attach to your side of the bed as well.  For some reason, doing this made me feel claustrophobic so it has always been about a foot away from my bed. 

Nathan used to be a great sleeper.  I remember even at 2 weeks old, he slept for 7 hours straight and I woke up in a panic to check that he was still breathing.  That didn't last very long at all, and right at three and a half months we started what was known as the "four month sleep regression".  This lasted all the way up to about two weeks ago, and it was probably one of the hardest parts of being a new mom.  We dealt with waking up every hour and a half, fighting going to sleep, and waking up extremely early.  I finally got to the point where I looked over at Daniel and said, "I think we are ready for the crib".  I was exhausted and frustrated.  Frustrated at myself for getting upset and then starting to get frustrated with Nathan (which made me feel double terrible).  

So two weeks ago we took the plunge and started putting Nathan in his crib.  That day he napped in his crib (which were super short cat naps) just to get him used to it.  That same day we stopped swaddling his arms, too.  When it came to nighttime I was very nervous it was going to blow up in my face and that he would be up all night long.  Well, that night he wake up twice and went right back down after being nursed.  He also slept until 7am which was a huge improvement compared to 5:30.  The next night he woke up once, and slept until 8am!!!  I couldn't believe how much better he was sleeping!  On top of that, Daniel and I were finally getting some restful sleep.  

It is easy to say that the crib agrees with Nathan.  He just started to roll over onto his side while snuggling his elephant, which is probably the most adorable thing ever.  We also let him fuss a bit for nap time, instead of making sure he is completely asleep.  At first this was hard for my mama heart, but we go in and soothe him here and there and he puts himself to sleep in a few minutes.  

Now, I write this with sensitivity.  Sleep is a sensitive issue.  We are so quick to pass judgement onto other moms for how their child is sleeping, where their child is sleeping, and for how long.  I write this as a sign of hope.  If you're little one is having some sleep issues, know that you're not alone!  And since going through it, I vowed not to ask about how someone's child is sleeping at night between 3-6 months.  Also, let's just be real.  If your child is still waking up 1-2 times a night can we not claim they are "sleeping through the night"?!?  All this really does is put a false hope in our exhausted mama hearts, and make us feel "less than" because ours isn't.  

Nathan wishes you and your family sweet dreams!