Sleep, perchance to dream.

Breastfeeding was no easy feat. An hour ofter the little one's birth, he was gently placed on my chest and started a munchin', in all the wrong ways, and in front of my father-in-law. (You'd think that after 26 hours of labour and an hour of pushing in front of a team of medical staff all modesty would be gone. Ummm....not so much.)
Baby couldn't latch, and I couldn't wear a shirt that didn't rub against my nipples causing me to yelp. Yep, it sucked. Pun intended. However, three lactation appointments later and most of my family familiar with the sight of me bare chested, we were breastfeeding successfully. It still took weeks for the babe and I to find our groove, but when we did, I breastfed whenever I could, all with my very eager and supportive husband looking over my shoulder announcing, "oh, that's a great latch." Enthusiasm aside, it still didn't stop me from threatening formula at 3 am at least twice a week. I persevered and sort of just accepted the night time feedings as the reality of our eager little latcher. I also developed a strange fascination to late night TV. I still think back to 'Paradise Hotel' and wonder how a geek like Dave got on that show. Reality television aside, in the back of my mind, everything would change at 6 months, when we introduced solid foods. Ah.....the solid food myth. Much like the formula myth and the myth that your body will go back to normal after giving birth. Really? C'mon now! I suppose I never questioned that baby was waking up so frequently because he was at least feeding well and hell, the kid was 17 pounds at 4 months old. Who was I to slow him down? But as time often gives you perspective on things, my husband began to think that maybe these wakings were not normal and that we should do something about it. Our first project: get the babe to nap!

We soon realized that about 2 hours after waking up, baby starts rubbing his eyes, and is less enthused about hanging out in the exersaucer or playing with blocks. It's at this time that the napping ritual must begin. We dim the lights, gently rock; I would nurse and little baby would fall asleep peacefully for 2 hours.
Wait, did you actually think that it happened that way?? Why am I writing this blog? No, napping usually involved me lying beside babe until he fell asleep, usually with nip still in mouth, and then me tip toeing out of my room to furiously shower, skipping all hair removal rituals, and applying make up swiftly, (Benefit's 'Oh la lift' does wonders for the eyes) all with about 2 minutes to spare before baby lets it wail. We knew the next step had to happen in order for napping to be successful. Baby had to get to his own bed. The crib was our next hurdle.