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"Don't walk, rock, carry or nurse baby to sleep. You'll spoil them and they won't know how to sleep on their own." - so says many baby "experts", the old folks and some not so old folks."Well, I don't believe in that.... but since its been said over and over again by so many, sometimes I can't help but to doubt myself or worry just a little, sometimes.
My children are walked, rocked, carried and nursed to sleep. Why? Because its the most natural thing in the world to me to pick them up when they cry, to cuddle and comfort them and to aid them in falling asleep since they look like they're having a tough time falling asleep. If I let them cry, they will just cry until they fall asleep from exhaustion. Thats silly!
My Girl was walked, carried and swayed a lot by both me and hubby when she was a baby. And now, she falls alseep on her own, no problems whatsoever. I can leave her in the room and tell her I will be back afterwards and when I return sometimes she's asleep, sometimes she's reading or playing quietly. Great!
My Boy is nursed to sleep and with this one, I worry that he may not know how to fall asleep on his own. However the past three nights, he has been doing just that. Normally he would fall asleep in my arms but on Sunday night he became quite awake after a feed. He became so awake (or so I thought mistakenly) I took him out to watch tv with daddy and he seemed quite happy with that! On Monday, he was wide awake again instead of falling asleep after a feed. I let him play with his sister for a while then separated them and he looked so active sitting up and rolling about, smiling, till he fell asleep somewhere near the top of my head!
Then last night he did it again. After a feed, he became or rather looked wide awake. He stood up, smiled, was very playful, then he dragged his pillow near me and placed himself on the pillow so that he was looking down at me. Then he poked his fingers into my eyes and said "eyes" smiling all the time. When I smiled back at him, he laughed delighted. He poked my eyes and nostrils and played with my face till he fell asleep. Haha. I hope he keeps this up. It will help in his weaning.
MG just got inspiration to write poetry to add to her collection. Hehe. (My poems are often inspired by the people I love.) So here it is.
Oh Mommy, won't you carry me
I can't sleep mommy can't you see
I'm afraid you will just let me be
Instead of holding me on your knee
Once, in your womb I'm warmly snuggled
Now the world is big and cold I'm so puzzled
I long to be pressed closed to your heart
So I will know that we will never part
Mommy won't you hold me near
I promise I won't shed a tear
I love to feel your rocking motion
And I'm sorry I made that commotion
Soon I will grow big and strong
And you will know you did no wrong
When you held me rocked me and loved me
For this is the way its meant to be
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Note: While searching for my previous posts on this subject, I was amused to discover that
1) I have such strong views about this subject and
2) baby still hasn't learned to fall asleep on his own since then (Hahaha. Now surely advocates of the "let baby cry to sleep" or "my confinement lady taught my baby to sleep through the night in one month!" methods will surely laugh at me and say that I'm a loony woman and if I complain about sleepness nights, they'll say its all my fault..... but who cares!)
