Being a mom has turned me into a stealth ninja. I know there are parents out there that absolutely forbid any time of household noise during nap time and after bed time but I never wanted to be one of those parents.
My brother's son is 3 and we were never as quiet as I am during nap time. Let me just say, I do NOT like lots of noise. If you were ever to get into my car, the radio is often pretty low. I mean I am the person who turns the radio down before the shut off the car... always!! It literally pisses me off if I get into my car and when I turn the key on the radio is loud. However, I don't think that it is necessary to be silent in your time while a child sleeps. As a matter of fact, I used to try to make a bit of noise while my daughter napped so that in the future it wouldn't be such a problem...
Well, we all choose our sleeping battles. I would love if my daughter slept in her crib all night without getting up but let's be real, I haven't forced her to and I've now created a monster. I was the one who was hesitant to move her from the co-sleeper to her crib at 4 or 6 months (great mommy memory there!). I knew that moving her meant that if she wanted to nurse that I'd have to really wake up to do so instead of just grabbing her from her co-sleeper.
There are plenty of people that will read this and think, why didn't you just give her a bottle... well, I hate pumping. Let me clarify that, I F---ING HATE PUMPING. You won't catch me cursing (like the sailor that I am in real life) in this blog but let me make it clear, when there are occasions that require that I take the time to really let you know how I feel about something that I will. There are so many occasions that I wanted to just tell my husband to get a bottle and handle it but I wouldn't because the he'd use my preciously pumped milk.
Listen, as a working mom who hates to hear my child (or any child for that matter) scream in sleep frustration, I tend to cave at some things. I still nurse my child to sleep, she's just over 12 months, I put her to bed asleep, I cuddle her while she's napping... I know that all these things are "wrong" but I don't want to be right because I love it. I love every snuggly moment that she will allow me to have.
Some day, much sooner that I'd hope, she is going to be daddy's girl and the days of mommy clingliness will be over. She loves me to the point of clinginess right now. Hence the reason I have become a stealth ninja.
When I put my daughter to bed, there are too many times where she ends up in our bed. Her bedroom is right across the hall from ours but she doesn't have the greatest track record for sleeping in her crib (which could be a blog post in itself one day but well see)
I work full time and so does my husband. We need sleep. There is no if ands or buts about it. Sleep is critical in this house and that is often sacrificed by either lack of sleep or bad habits. We chose bad habits. I would rather get a bit of sleep before showing up to work like a zombie than making sure that my daughter slept in her bed but it's a matter of personal opinion. The cry it out method has worked for so many people it is tempting to me but I just haven't built up the strength to endure a rough two to five days to deal with it. With all that said, she still sleeps in our bed pretty often.
Once, our daughter has gone to bed or early in the morning before she's awoken, I often do things like: clean, cook or organize. My favorite is cooking but I know that the other things have to be done. This is where being a stealth ninja comes in.
Like I said there are times where my daughter will be sleeping in our bed. She sleeps great in our bed. She does however know when I've left the room. It's exhausting. I have become a stealth ninja because of all the situations that require a careful removal of yourself from the bed. If my daughter is sleeping in our bed, just freaking deal with it. I know I may possibly be able to move her across the hall but realistically she is going to wake up.
Best of luck to all of you out there!!!!
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