No Deal

One way I get through the first two weeks of newborndom is to tell myself to have no expectations of the new baby. I can't expect him to sleep at night. I can't expect him to have a feeding schedule. I can't expect him to be happy. I give the baby what he wants, when he wants it. Somehow, the baby turns into a toddler and you ask yourself where the time went.

Milo has been all types of babies in the last 11 days. He's been a content baby. He's been an extremely fussy baby. He's been an up-all-night-eating baby. He's been an up-all-night-not-eating-but-fussing baby. He's been a gassy baby. He's been a sleep through the night for seven hours baby. So, in reality, he really hasn't decided what he wants to be yet.

Last night, I was settling into bed around 8pm, like Milo and I typically do, but Milo wasn't in the mood for bedtime. He fussed and squirmed and generally wasn't too happy with life. I fed him but he continued to fuss. We swaddled and snuggled and he fell asleep. I placed him in his bassinet and after five seconds of snoring, he was wailing. I walked around the house with him and he fell asleep. I placed him in his bassinet and after five seconds of snoring, he was wailing. This went on until 11pm. He wanted to sleep, but just not in the bassinet. Not next to me on the bed. Not even in the swing. Where he wanted to sleep was right in my arms.

I am not a fan of having my babies sleep with me for multiple reasons so this could not even be an option. I held him off to my left side with his head elevated and knees scrunched up to his chest. When he fell asleep, I would lay him down again in his crib. At approximately 6:15am this morning, I found Milo and me still laying in the same position we went to bed in. My shoulder and arm were long since dead and don't get me started on my neck.

I'm not taking the deal he's offering me. No way is he going to get to sleep with me every night. Hopefully tonight he'll decide to be the baby that sleeps six hours through the night in his bassinet.