Adventures in Swaddling

My little boy took one more step away from infancy and into babyhood.  Yesterday, he napped all day without being swaddled.  When I picked him up from day care, he was fast asleep in his crib with his arms wide open.  What a sweet boy.

We haven't been brave enough to try putting him to sleep at night without being swaddled yet.  Last night he fell asleep at church all swaddled up and since he was so fast asleep, we just left him like that and put him to bed.  That turned out to be a bad decision.  At 2:45am, he woke up crying.  I knew he wasn't hungry because he just ate at midnight.  So Daniel and I agreed to let him cry a little bit and see if he would go back to sleep on his own.  After a minute or two, I began to get worried.  I remembered that at midnight he had arched his back and wedged himself in the corner of his crib so that he was almost lying on his side.  It wouldn't be too difficult for him to push himself over onto his stomach.  I asked Daniel to check the video monitor to make sure Elijah was still on his back.  Daniel looked, and told me he was.  I wasn't convinced.  I went upstairs and sure enough, he was on his belly wailing with his face just an inch from the mattress.  He looked like a beached whale.  It was so sad.  I turned him over, gave him his pacifier, and rocked him.  Within 10 minutes he was back asleep.  I can't decide if this incident is proof that we need to let the swaddle go cold turkey.  Elijah has been sleeping pretty well over all.  The last 4 nights we have been able to put him in his crib while he was still awake and he has quietly drifted off to sleep on his own.  Which means he has also been sleeping in his crib instead of the swing.  He has woken up to eat at midnight and 5am every night though.  I'm not sure if that's related to anything else, or just an extra hungry phase he's going through.  I'm actually excited for him to sleep unswaddled.  I think babies are so cute when they're all curled up asleep in their crib.  I have to keep reminding myself that even a "bad" night for Elijah is a good night for most other babies.  We never really went through the extreme sleep deprival that most parents do.  But I also have very high standards for volume of sleep.  In the last week or two my anxiety level has significantly decreased.  Since Elijah was born it has come and gone.  After a few really bad nights, I tend to get anxious and hear phantom crying in the middle of the night.  And then after a few good nights I do much better.  In the last week we have phased out using the monitor.  I've realized that his crying wakes me up even without the monitor on.  We only use it for the video feed now.  That's nice because I'm able to sleep much better when I don't hear every little noise he makes.

I have Monday off for Martin Luther King Day.  I'm looking forward to it as a chance to see what one day as a stay at home mom is like.  I'm hoping to take Elijah to have lunch with Daniel.  I think it will be a tiring day, but a fun one.  I love any day I get to spend with my baby boy.