The bunny that saved my sanity

Some things are just too funny to keep to oneself. As you may know, the pediatrician gave us the go ahead to wean our Sweet Pea off of her 11:00 bottle. The first night, she woke up around 3, drank 3 1/2 ounces and promptly went back to sleep. The next 3 nights she slept through until 6:15. Early, but sleeping through the night quite nicely. It was night before last that I went to bed with a false sense of confidence. The following was not too funny to me at the time, but recounting it to Steve the next morning, and again to Elise tonight, I cannot help but laugh.

(cue 24 intro) The following takes place between 3:30 A.M and 4:30 A.M. ...

I am awakened by a whining Samantha. Upon peering into her crib, I find that she has completely freed herself from a patented Daddy-swaddle, a first. Not only has she broken free, but she has flipped to her stomach. She is stuck (she is only rolling one way right now), thus the whining. I put my mommy skills, all obtained in the past 4 months, to the test.

Attempt #1: I pick Samantha up, and that little booger, who is wide awake, has the gall to smile at me like its time to play. I resist all urges to smile back at her sweet face so that she knows this is not "play time." It's "sleepy time" and Mommy is TIRED. I rock her for a few minutes, reswaddle her with a larger blanket, put her pacifier back in her mouth, and head back to my warm, comfortable bed. By the time I lay down and look at the monitor (its a video monitor), she has already busted free, spit out her pacifier, and rolled back to her stomach. More whining ensues. Baby:1, Mommy:0.

Attempt #2: Back to Samantha's room, I decide to give her a bottle, even though she doesn't have her "hungry cry" going. Sometimes a bottle soothes her to sleep. She takes 2 ounces and smiles at me when shes done. Then she spits on herself. Tough luck, kid. It's not enough that I'm changing you in the middle of the night! I decide this time I will use an official "Swaddle Me" blanket complete with velcro closures this go round. She's not happy, but she's in. Back in bed, I find that her arms are already free and, you guessed it, she has flipped over. Dang it. Baby:2, Mommy:0.

Attempt #3: I decide to get the back positioner out of her closet. We have never before used it, but tonight is as good a time as any to start trying. Sans any sort of blanket, I position her with the little wedges on either side of her torso, like the picture on the box. I go back to my bed and lay, wide awake at this point, watching the monitor. She kicks and squirms, and eventually worms her way down the contraption. As in, her head is now located between the wedges. Not good. I go back in, she looks at me and smiles. Baby:3, Mommy:0.

Attempt #4: I finally give up on any devices whatsoever, positioners, blankets or otherwise. This is just one of those times where she is going to have to work it out. I put her in her crib, turn on her aquarium, stick in the pacifier, and give her the closest lovey I can find. She calms down and starts to drift off. Baby: 3.5, Mommy: 0.5.

Attempt #5: Back in my own bed, I have an attack of conscious that I have put my 4 month old down with a blanket-type lovey. I immediately have flashes of the dangers of suffocation. I get up, trudge downstairs, and get her Nya-Nyan bunny. Nya-Nyan has no stuffing and is relatively small. It doesn't cover her whole face, despite what the above picture may look like. I trust Nya-Nyan. I head back upstairs, pry the lamb lovey out of her hands, and quickly replace it with the best bunny in the world. She grabs it and pulls it close, falling into a deep sleep. Baby: asleep, Mommy: relieved, Daddy: never woke up, Nya-Nyan: my new best friend.

Steve, though he slept through it all, must have sensed that I hadn't slept much. When Samantha woke up at 7, he offered to get her up for her morning bottle so I could snooze a bit longer. His suspicions were confirmed when he went to her room and found 2 blankets, a Swaddle Me blanket and a back positioner on the floor.

Samantha now sleeps with no swaddle. Thankfully, she slept last night and took 2 great naps today. For both, she slept on her stomach with Nya-Nyan firmly in her grasp. She holds her even as I type this. The bunny that saved my sanity!!!