Sleeping Beauty

When Ella was about 2 months old, she started sleeping through the night. It was wonderful...and it lasted only until she got her first tooth. Then she would usually wake up at least once during the night and want to nurse back to sleep. At the end of June, she stopped nursing cold turkey and started sleeping through the night again most of the time.

At the time she stopped nursing, our bedtime routine got a little more elaborate. Usually she will have a bath, listen to stories and gather all of her bedtime comforts, which include her baby doll(s), her two silkie blankies and a water cup. Then she will turn the light out by herself (yes, she is tall enough when she reaches on her tippy toes) and we will rock for a bit in the dark. It worked like a charm for awhile and she slept throught the night. However, recently she has been waking up in the wee hours and wanting Mommy to cuddle with her. The only problem is that she will doze off in my arms and promptly wake up when I put her in the crib. If I put her back in the crib awake, she will scream and won't stop. Finally, I've started just lying down with her on the twin bed in her room and sleeping with her. Obviously, this is not something I want to become a habit.

Last night was particulary difficult because I hadn't been sleeping well and Ella just wasn't cooperating with me at 4:00AM. When I cuddled with her, she calmed down and I told her that I was going to put her back in "bed". Well, when I put her back in her crib she started crying again. Finally, it hit me and I asked her if she wanted to sleep in the twin bed. She said "yes" and settled back to sleep on her own in the twin bed. Tonight, she specifically said "No" to the crib and asked for the "bed", and settled to sleep on her own on the twin bed. She's not a baby anymore!