Sleeping Solo

Julien started 2011 with a new habit. He is now sleeping in his own bed in his own room. Yup, the cotbed and the nursery are finally in use!

And the transition has not been as hard as I thought it would be. He is getting bigger by the day and was looking a bit squeezed recently, so I thought it would probably be more comfortable for him to move to his spacious cotbed. And after all, it is more comfortable with a pocket-sprung mattress and all. 

Previously, I had pushed back putting him in the nursery for a whole battery of reasons: (1) we might both not hear Julien's cries when he awakes, (2) it would be too trying for nightfeeds to have to drag myself out of bed, go to the next room, settle him back to sleep, and come back. I might just become too awake and by the time I fall asleep again, it might be time for the next feed! (3) The nursery is rather cold in winter - once, I saw the temperature there had actually fallen to 13.5 degrees! etc etc 

In the end, when I think about it, it is not so much Julien we had to worry about being weaned off sleeping in our room; it is ME! I had gotten so used to him being in our room, sleeping in his Moses basket just right beside me. The thought of him not being there just made me feel like the room is suddenly filled with a sense of emptiness.

But well, I know I can't keep him in our room forever. And I guess the new year, on the special date of 1 Jan 2011 is as good a day as any to start this new beginning for him and me. I think with amusement now, if this is proving to be difficult for me, how will I deal with it when my little boy is all grown up and time to fly the nest?

Actually, the only difficulty remains in getting him to sleep. This boy seems to be more keen on playing rather than sleeping... (Feeding is the same - once he has taken the minimal amount necessary to banish the hunger pangs, he would try hard to dislodge the bottle and start looking around and make cooing noises.)

And I can't say there are no benefits to this new arrangement. I think both Daddy Low and I have better sleep, now that Jules is in the next room, since we have set up a feeding roster. And in order to fulfill our shift, we set our alarm clocks and somehow internally, our internal alarm clocks are also set. And dear Julien doesn't have to wait till he is bawling to get his feed. He gets it even when he is still drowsy in Dreamland. 

So there it is, Mummy Low, time to let go and take this baby step with Julien :)  And enjoy the better sleep, while we are at it!