Not So Lucky...

So our experiment was a bust :(. Here's how it went down:

Put Ayden to bed at 8:30 (he nursed to sleep), dream feed around 10:30 (I was in bed at 11pm), he woke at 1am and wouldn't go back to sleep without a feeding, then again at 2:30 and again needed a feeding (I may have shed a tear or two during this one...SO. TIRED.), then he was up again at 4, 5:30 (brought him to our bed) and then was up for the morning at 6:30. David was super helpful and took Ayden downstairs with him while he ate breakfast to give me a little extra sleep.

I got up around 7:30 to change Ayden's diaper then put him on his play mat while I stuffed diapers. Around 8am he was ready for his morning nap. Of course I napped with him. On days after a particularly rough night, if I need to nap with Ayden, I'm more lenient about the EASY routine. I nurse him to sleep in our bed and we have a long, snuggly nap together. He tends to sleep longer when we nap together for obvious reasons, the main one being that he uses me as a pacifier. I napped for about 20 minutes then did a quick switcheroo with an actual pacifier so I could let the dog out and get some breakfast. Ayden ended up sleeping for 2 hours!

David decided that he wanted to come home early from work today to have a little more time with us. We've been keeping pretty busy for the past few weeks, and though we've been together a lot, we've usually been working on various projects and haven't had much quality downtime. When he got home we had lunch, then headed up for a family nap. It was so nice and was just the down time we needed together.

Since David was home, I pumped and left Ayden with him while I went to teach dance. It was my first time teaching without him since he's been born. I kept feeling like I had forgotten something and the night FLEW by! I suppose juggling the jobs of mommy/dance teacher makes time slow down?

Overall the day turned out great considering the night we had (the 2 naps helped) . I just need to stop getting my hopes up for consistent good sleep and just be glad that things happen to fall into place at least sometimes. It is normal for babies to have unpredictable sleep habits in the first year (and possibly longer) and if I go into each night expecting to party all night with our little man, the good nights will be a glorious surprise :). Another bonus of being a stay at home mommy? I really can "nap when he naps" like everyone always tells you to (yet another reason to talk to Little Miss' mom...).

Do you find time to nap with your babies after a rough night? Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my mom and me snuggling up together for a nap in my dad's recliner after my sisters left for school. Maybe I'll make a point to make it a daily habit for Ayden to fondly remember someday...

~ Sarah