New Year. New Room. New Sleep Era

I'm big on integrity, which might explain why I haven't blogged in how long? How could I possibly face you after committing to an immediate big move and not following through for...two whole months?

  

So we finally did it, and now I can look you in the eye. 

Lulu moved to her own room yesterday. We figured New Year's Eve would be the right time. Yes, it took us a long time and a lot of "Next week for SURE!". In our defense I will say that in the last two weeks we have had an added reason (or excuse) to push it off (what about the other month and a half, you might ask). 

You see, Lulu started sleeping through the night, which meant WE started sleeping at last. It was a long process that took dedication, endless love, hard work and... one single moment of discovering sleeping on her belly. A word on that: I think the United States is only place where belly sleeping isn't encouraged until babies get there on their own, but we followed the "rules" and waited, even though we knew it would be the best comfortable position (we also had proof - numerous peaceful supervised naps). My mom actually demanded that I apologize to Lulu for not letting her get to belly sleeping sooner...

I digress. Belly sleeping was our game changer and we became apprehensive about messing with this delicious taste of relief. Who knows how Lulu will take the move? I became anxious, creating scenarios of returning to sleepless nights, insomnia and other fun stuff. I started telling myself that I needed only one more night of uninterrupted sleep before we took the plunge...one more...two more...three more. 

Instead I should have focused on Lulu's tremendous future upgrade. Unmatched accommodations and amenities: No more shaky Pack n' Play! She was going to move to a room of her own, free of tiptoeing whispering parents who still managed to wake her up while trying hard not to. Her new bed was much bigger, which means more space to explore. Her mattress was the real deal, not to mention the plush organic mattress pad and sheet. The works! We personally would be very pleased to sleep in this crib if we could fit in it.

Upgrade. The works.

Cut to 12.31.2013

Morning nap approaching. As we go through our nap ritual (rituals work so well with babies!), my heart is missing a beat or two. Not only was I naturally expecting major resistance, I was also deeply pondering the meaning of this next step. Separate rooms. Separate rooms. It means so many things. So many...

I do dig the new digs. Better than Ima and Aba's for sure. Better colors too.

I put Lulu in her shiny new crib while her Aba was filming the historical event (yes, we're dorks). I showed her where I had placed her pacifiers as I always do and left the room. Within the next 5 minutes I went in 3 times, probably for 10 seconds each. Each time Lulu cried simply because she couldn't find the pacifiers (it is a bigger bed after all), not because she wasn't happy with the sleeping arrangement.  She actually seemed very comfortable and fell asleep on her own. Goog and I looked at each other in disbelief. That's it. She's sleeping. Done. History.

Serenity Now!

I will admit that drops of anxiety managed to creep in as the evening approached. That's what counts. Night sleep. What if...What if. Well...what a waste of anxiety. Our incredible baby fell asleep as soon as we said Lyla Tov and had the best night's sleep into the new year!!! Unbelievable! Which reminds me....Another historical occasion is the fact that it was the first New Year's Eve I can remember being asleep before midnight. Party girl is now a mama and isn't able to stay awake to celebrate the new year. How did this happen?! We put up a fight but lasted only till 11. Ok, 10:50...Ok, 10:45. Ok, we didn't really put up a fight....we just went to bed as soon as we were done with our midnight toast (midnight in Buenos Aires). Surprisingly I was able to fall asleep easily. After all, we've had Lulu in our room since she was born, 8.5 months ago, and I anticipated difficulty. But all I got was a little pinch in my heart looking over the deserted Pack n' Play, about 60 seconds of staring into the monitor, watching Lulu sleeping like a champion and one very long & strong hug which smelled a lot like a combination of "We finally did it, yay!" and "Our little girl left the nest, oy!". And that was it. Smooth entry into 2014. Glorious sleep. I'm proud to say well deserved.

Wishing you all a glorious year! Happy New Year!

I like it here! Happy New Year!!!