The Art of the Put Down
Any parent will tell you, there is a skill in moving a sleeping babe from arms to crib, without waking said infant (any child really).
Unfortunately, P.Pie hasn’t quite mastered the trick yet.
Don’t get me wrong, she’s skilled at getting The Squeaker (TS) to sleep; whether it’s through a gentle rock and soft hum, or a quiet feeding; like a prize fighter with a massive right hook, she can really knock her out.
Getting her to stay asleep, well, that’s a different matter.
In the last week or two, I had noticed that P.Pie was having to pick The Squeaker up and put her down a few times in order to get her to stay asleep.
During last Saturday night’s exciting evening, P.Pie has barely laid TS down and she had already started squeaking. [ed. note: our weekends generally consist of videos from Blockbuster, in bed at 9, asleep no later than 10:30]
Trying to be helpful, I picked her up, worked my magic, laid her back down and she was out until the next feeding. A little perturbed, P.Pie asked me what she was doing wrong.
As I said, it’s a trick. Sort of. It’s also a little bit of planning. If getting her to sleep is the end goal of holding her, I give her the burrito wrap in advance. Sure, she’s a little upset at first, but she gets over it pretty quickly and falls asleep that much faster.
If she falls asleep in my arms unswaddled, I carefully carry her to the bedroom, layout the swaddling blanket, wrap up quick as a line worker in a Mexican fast food joint at lunch rush and (here’s the trick) pick her up, holding her again until the heavier sleep overcomes her again. Then I lay her back down.
It sounds simple because it is. Given enough time, P.Pie would have figured it out on her own. But because she just couldn’t wait, I now get to hold that over her head.
Of course, if I get to full of myself, she trumps all of my ‘look what I can do’ cards by simply pointing to The Squeaker.
posted by Rob Barron at 9:29 PM
10 Comments:
as a mom I vote that P. Pie is just so comfy and snuggly it wakes TS up when moved from the warm embrace of her mama's arms ;). (Tell that to P. Pie.) It probably doesn't hurt that she smells like lunch either. (I know I do, cause my baby is about to turn 1 (sob) and going strong on the boob juice.)
This reminds me. If you haven't picked up The Baby Whisperer yet, you should check it out. It is a book with lots of advice on using the daily routine to help teach the baby when they are supposed to eat/sleep/play. I thought it sounded hokey at first, but we followed almost all of the advice right out of the gate and were amazed at how well they took to sleeping. I don't often recommend books to people but I mention that one to every knew parent.
Tell P. Pie this is just the beginning of the Daddy's Little Girl crap that TS will be pulling her whole life.
On the upside, she'll call P. Pie first when she has babies.
Mine hardly ever slept laying down at this age. They slept in a vibrating bouncy seat or swing or car seat or my arms, etc. As soon as we'd lay them down flat, they'd wake up. Those first 3 months are exhausting!
I remember that difficult task as well.
D (my hubby) was better at swaddling/burrito-baby wrap.
D was better at distinguishing son's needs based on the sound of the cry.
D was better at a few things. Period.
But...oh, my nursies (boobs). A set that he just couldn't compete with. I had the power to get Gage "Milk-Drunk" as we called it. That passed-out-nothing-could-wake-me-at-all phase that happened right after a good round of nursing.
Now THAT was something that I could hold over D's head.
Tell P.Pie not to worry, The Squeaker will throw you for a loop soon enough!
Neither my wife nor I ever mastered the art of putting our little guy down without waking him. Ah well. Maybe the next baby will like sleep.
We had a little trick that worked wonders with our daughter. Whenever she was going to be heading for the cradle (or crib, when she got bigger, because she was a premie) we laid a heating pad in it and turned it on low. Then we laid her directly onto the warm spot and she just sortof melted right down into sleep, if you know what I mean. We also did this during night feedings (adopted child, so they were all bottles, sorry, it was the best I could do)--lift her out, lay down the pad, cover it with her blankey, feed and change her and then lay her back into the warm spot and cover her with the warm blankey.
She could be fed and back into bed in ten minutes or less, and never really wake up!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful Blog with us all. I stumbled across this today and have laughed and cried with you as I've read your family's journey over the recent months.
I cannot put into words how wonderfully inspiring I have found your blog. You are a very brave family.
I have my own trick too.... for when they fall asleep in my arms:
While holding the baby close to my chest, I lean over the crib, still holding the baby close and snug, place my arms and baby on the crib mattress ever so slowly, so I am just barely still touching the baby with my body, slide one hand out then the other, while still leaning over the crib, and gently very gently lift myself up. And Walla.... still sleeping!
Oh, but it wasn't easy to figure that one out.
Oh, and that still works on my 2 year old....
Tell P.Pie that your way works for you, but it may not work for her.
Have fun holding this over her head, becuase in about 11 years, it will be all about mommy... until she's 13.... then it will be all about daddy.... until well forever.
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