17 May 2007

Who Needs Sleep? Part 2

For about three weeks now, we've been dealing with a problem. Baby has stopped sleeping in his crib. It wouldn't be a big deal if he'd sleep somewhere else-the co-sleeper, his swing, his hippo, etc, but he won't. He will not sleep unless he is actually touching another person. Since I'm the one who's home all day, I'm generally the one Baby sleeps with. He used to prefer my stomach, but in the last week, he's discovered my arm fat, and that's now his favorite place to sleep. It's pretty cute when we take our 7 something to 10 something nap on the couch each morning, but it's not so cute in the middle of the night. It's actually really anxiety inducing, and my nights have become a series of sleeping between about 11 and 1, feeding Baby, dozing, jarring awake, and keeping a drowsy vigil while staying perfectly still, trying not to pee myself, and making sure Baby is breathing until he wakes up 90 minutes later and decides he wants a snack.
These nights are really getting to me. I'm not a fan of co-sleeping, even though I understand why people do it. For me, it's just too frightening. I love my pillows and goose down comforter, and since I'm a very restless sleeper, I'd rather not have an 11 pound completely helpless person resting on my arm fat.
I'm not sure what to do. My sister-in-law put Baby on his stomach, and he napped great. The other morning Baby napped on his stomach for about 45 minutes while I tried to sleep with one eye open. It didn't work. If I put him in his crib or swing or carseat, he might give us an hour or two, but more likely he'll wake himself up. He's so active that his arms and legs move constantly until they end up waking him up. When he's in my bed, I'm terrified. If he's on his stomach, I'm terrified.
Since Baby is only about eight weeks old, I'm not sure he's old enough to begin sleep training. I know that'll be necessary at some point, but right now I envision Husband and me letting Baby cry, and Baby never liking me again. It already makes me sad that he'll never remember all the time we spend smiling and making faces at each other and watching the harpies on the View and making up dumb songs and taking long walks. I don't want to jeopardize that, but I'd like to be able to sleep soundly. I'd like to be able to sleep with just one other person in my bed. I'm not sure what to do, and I have no idea how to figure it out.