sleeping in

I used to be a morning person, able to wake up at 5:30 AM to get a workout in before my day started. I even had Elliot rising early during the final months of my pregnancy because it was too hot by 7 AM to go for a run, but the year of waking up several times during the night has broken me of that habit. Before Ada arrived I had all of these notions about how I wouldn't be afraid to let my baby "cry it out" (CIO) if they weren't one of the angelic babies who sleep through the night at 3 months all on their own. Funny how having the actual baby in your house can change things. Not to say that we didn't try, but Ada is what we like to call stubborn.

As we hit Ada's one year birthday without her sleeping through the night I figured we might have to pull out the CIO card. Elliot and I were zombies during the week, and it was obviously affecting Ada as well as she would sleep in until 8 or 9 AM if we let her. Which was a nice little treat for us on the weekends but sort of a pain on week days. I was anticipating horrible nights of long crying stretches and a bleary eyed family for a few weeks. So far we seem to be doing Ok. The first few nights she woke up once, cried for maybe 5 minutes and then gave up and went back to sleep. The last two nights she has actually slept through the night, waking at 6 AM. It is more like a popping awake. She will be sleeping soundly one minute and then POP her eyes open and she is ready to start her day. Up until this week Ada and I had a nice thing going, Elliot would get up to shower and we would sleep in. Those days are now distant memories. Ada, feeling refreshed does not want to waste one drop of a day by sleeping in. I try, but she pulls my hair, grabs my nose, forces her fingers in my mouth, anything she can think of to wake me up. I usually last about 5 minutes, but I'm taking note of all of her techniques. I plan on using each and every one of them when she hits her teen years and refuses to wake up in the morning.