To the Mattresses

I know this blog has been all about Ethan lately-- but I can't help it! The newest dilemma is this....

Ethan has spent the first 6 months of his life napping in this swing. I knew the day was coming when he would outgrow it... and that day is here. I have been fighting it for a while. When I turn the swing on full blast it barely moves the boy. He does weigh 19 lbs.... I hand rock it and the whole thing creaks in protest. I have to hold the feet of the swing down so they don't come off the floor with the 19 lbs of momentum coursing through them. It is so time to give it up.

The other option is the car seat. Ethan will go to sleep in it really well. I just have to put a blanket on him, give him a paci, and rock him for a few minutes. He will fall asleep in the middle of anything if he is rocked.

The obvious option is the crib. He only sleeps in it at night. He sleeps in the swing or the car seat during the day.The pediatrician suggested that we teach Ethan how to fall asleep on his own in the crib. She suggested trying this during the day instead of at night. That way when he wakes up in the middle of the night in it, he can fall right back asleep without having to be put back to sleep. Makes sense. But easier said than done- especially now that he is crawling and pulling up. I have to wrestle him down the mattress to get him to lay down sometimes.

But, we have been working on it. And it is going surprisingly well. The first night he woke up at his normal time at night, I got him down on the mattress, calm, in about 20 minutes. Then the stare off began.... for the next hour. This is not fun at 3 am. But he finally went to sleep in the crib without eating. Since then we have been practicing during the day too and it is also going really well. It takes about 10 minutes of me holding his arms down while he is laying down for him to drift off. I have to hold his arms down to keep him laying down and not trying to sit up and crawl. Tonight when he went to sleep it took about 5 minutes and I only held his arms down for 2 of those minutes... Hopefully I won't have to hold his arms down at all soon.

This might have been easier to start earlier in his development, but we're doing it now and that's what matters. :)