Fighting Out of the Red Corner . . .

So we're eight months in, and still have no real schedule.  We do, however, have a few rituals (some would call them "bad habits"), mostly centered around the "Big Bed."  

Unless Rich has an early appointment, morning usually starts with Becca wiggling around in the co-sleeper (no longer attached to the bed), and me trying to peek in and see she's okay without making eye contact.  Once eye contact is made, sleep time is over.  Most mornings, her wiggling will also force Rich awake; he'll get up to use the bathroom and brush his teeth.  If I can avoid eye contact during this time, he will pick her up and change her diaper before plopping her down in the Big Bed.  If not, the job falls to me.  We all giggle and play in the bed together until Becca realizes she's hungry; then Rich runs out to the kitchen to start his tea and grab a bottle.  If it's early enough he gets to enjoy his tea in bed while I feed Becca; if not, he gets ready while she eats.  

For a while Becca started taking her morning nap on the Big Bed.  It started anywhere from ten to eleven thirty, and I never knew how long it would last.  It seemed at least twice as long if she took it in the Big Bed (generally 1-1 1/2 hours) vs. the crib or pack-and-play.  She fights sleep, and sometimes it's no picnic getting her down.  The easiest way is if I lay down with her and rub her back and face until she falls asleep, or cuddle her up in my lap.

Unfortunately, all this has resulted in our little darling deciding that the Big Bed is her right. But since she's becoming increasingly mobile, I don't trust that a circle of pillows will contain her. So she's napping in the crib.   And the nighttime battle for the Big Bed is underway.  

When bedtime rolls around we put her between us, and she rolls back and forth, cuddling with each of us, until she wears herself out and cuddles up to go to sleep.  Then one of us moves her to the co-sleeper for the night.  Or until later that night/morning, when she wakes back up.  Some nights I win the battle, occasionally rubbing her back when she wakes up, leaving her in her little bed, and some nights I don't, pulling her in bed with me and passing out together, or laying half awake while she repeatedly sleep kicks me, battling for territory.  I know I can't keep this up forever, that I should want her to be independent, but in truth, I love the cuddles, even though I often wake up with fewer than 5 inches for myself in the morning.