On High Maintenance Babies

Brooks is what I like to call a "high maintenance baby."  He wasn't colicky as a newborn- he usually wanted something when he cried- but he's never been a good sleeper.  I think I kind of knew he'd be like this going into it...my husband wasn't a good sleeper as a child and neither was I.  I remember scouring the internet for answers to my baby's sleep "issues" [really not 'issues' at all. he's just a baby.] and so I just wanted to write this post for anyone out there who is looking for something to comfort them.

From around 6 months old until around 12 months old, Brooks would only fall asleep if someone rocked him in the Ergo carrier.  Most of the time I did it, but every now and again he'd let Daddy put him to sleep in there too.  During the day, if I wanted him to stay asleep I wasn't able to put him down [hence the reason I was watching DVR'd episodes of Dallas while rocking back and forth in front of the TV] but it was better to stand holding a sleeping baby and watching TV than it was to deal with a tired, cranky child for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  This phase of not being able to put him down lasted probably 2 months or so...he did eventually let me rock him to sleep and put him down for naps.

Ergo nappin'

Around 12 months old, he started only falling asleep for naps in the car.  I remember getting so frustrated after I had taken him out of the car while he was sleeping and he woke up.  After about 2 times doing this, I said forget it! [i'm not sure if that was my EXACT word choice, but i'm keeping it clean here folks] and let him stay in the car.  Luckily this was around the time that the weather was crazy nice so I just rolled the windows down and left the garage door open.  This phase lasted until it was too cold to leave him out there...so probably a month or so!

Car nappin'

Now, at 16 months, Brooks will FINALLY let me transfer him from the car if he falls asleep in there. He also will fall asleep if I rock him in the rocking chair.  It took us a while to get here, but I'm hoping this phase lasts a little while.

Anyways,  if you are reading this and your baby currently isn't sleeping, it will get better!  Do whatever works for you to get the most sleep.  Once I gave up the idea that Brooks "should" be doing this or that, things got a lot better.  :)