I think that overall we have been extremely lucky with Zev. The pregnancy, birth, and his health have all been close to ideal, and I am very grateful for that. The only area that has been a little challenging is sleep. Zev hates his cot. Hates it. Either that or he seems terrified of it. So far it hasn’t been a big issue because we have been practicing attachment parenting (check out this link if you want, but in a nutshell it means that we are very responsive to Zev with the mindset that you can’t spoil a tiny baby; when they cry it is because they need something, not because they are trying to wrap you around their finger. Additionally, it is recommended that you sleep with your baby, as this promotes a high level of trust, and it is a great way for the parents to bond with the baby). Zev sleeps like a champ in bed with us – in fact he often sleeps 8-10 hours at night, and might only wake up once to feed. Since he’s right there with me, and we have mastered breastfeeding, I usually don’t even have to get out of bed. Additionally, cosleeping cuts down on SIDS, and supposedly makes the baby a better sleeper in the long run. The downside is… well… we have a baby in our bed! Even though it can be really great, it can also be frustrating, since he is a wriggly little worm, and takes up more than his fair share of space. So we have decided when he turns 3 months, we’re going to really focus on getting him to spend more time in his own bed. He has started taking daytime naps in his cot, and I think we’ll just gradually transition him to night sleeping there, too. But as I said, he is so scared that it is going to be challenging! I am hoping to have the whole transition complete in 4-6 weeks.
Coincidentally, today’s Baby School was all about sleep. The nurse / teacher of the class recommends controlled crying or letting them cry it out. I can get behind controlled crying – you let them cry for 5 minutes, then check on them, reassure them you are still there, then leave again, then go 10 minutes before you check, and so on – but they were saying that it is normal for the baby to cry so hard they will vomit! This just seems cruel! So tomorrow it is off to the library to get a few books on the topic.
Anybody want to weigh in?
In other news, Zev got his passport and US Birth Certificate! Soon he will be international! And I have been working on teaching Zev a few signs and tonight he signed for milk! It was very satisfying, although I have a feeling I am going to be seeing that sign A LOT.