Crib vs. Cradle

Before Roger was born, Matt and I were bound and determined that the little man would always sleep in his crib. We were set on promoting independence from an early age and had agreed that we would not be the kind of parents that shared a bed with their baby, let alone a room. No sir, from the beginning Roger would be sleeping in his crib. No cradle or bassinet was purchased and the baby monitors were charged and ready to go.

It's interesting how when once the baby arrives all preconceived notions you may have in mind for the baby or what kind of parents you'll be go right out the door.

From the get go getting Roger to sleep in his crib was a battle. Matt's mom stayed with us for a little over the first week of Roger's life. When it was time to put Roger to bed, it was like a little alarm went off in his head. He was instantly wide awake and ready to resist what was coming. While she was here, Matt's mom would take the first shift, rocking Roger in the rocking chair, cradling him to sleep, but without fail, as soon as his back hit that crib mattress a screaming fit of epic proportions would ensue. When it was time for a feeding, I would relieve Matt's mom and take the next shift, feed him, and occasionally have some success in getting the little man to fall asleep in his crib (though admittedly these successes were very infrequent and usually required me falling asleep on the floor next to the crib and sneaking out some time later). My husband and I spent a good portion of one night laying on the floor in the nursery with Roger between us waiting for him to fall asleep only to be barraged with heartbreaking wails as soon as we placed him in the crib.

When Matt's mom left it was up to Matt and I to continue this ongoing crusade alone. Of course, given that Roger wasn't even 2 weeks old yet we couldn't simply adopt the "cry-it-out" method (nor do I think I would be capable of withstanding listening to my little man cry for very long). We spent the first night sans-mother-in-law camped out on the couch with our darling son in his automatic bouncer next to us and amazingly enough... he slept through the night, only waking when it was time to eat. The answer was amazingly clear - the little guy was more than willing to sleep through the night. He just didn't want to be alone. And understandably so; he had just spent the past 9 months in the comfy confines of my womb.

So though we still won't let him share a bed with us (I have this innate fear of rolling over him or smothering him with blankets or one of our many pillows), he now sleeps peacefully through the night in a cozy little get up right next to my side of the bed. All books and websites have assured us that it's impossible to "spoil" an infant at this age, so perhaps in a few weeks (or months) we'll revisit the crib battle, but for now, this one's been won.

Little Man - 1, Parents - 0