Sleep!

I was looking through old pictures today and I was truly shocked by how many pictures I had of Merrick sleeping. Now, those of you who read my blog know that I think that my child is practically perfect in every way, however, sleeping has never been one of our strong suits. Given that, the number of sleeping pictures seemed disproportionate.

In any case, over the last thirteen months sleep has eluded us. I talked about it with family members and the doctor. Self-soothing was definitely not our problem as Merrick went into his crib awake each time and put himself to sleep. The problem seemed to me that he was always hungry. He would wake up crying and would not go back to sleep until I nursed him. The pediatrician said, since he was only in the fifth percentile for weight, if he wanted to eat I should feed him. So, we got up every 3-5 hours every night so Merrick could eat.

About a week ago I stopped nursing and since then a beautiful thing has happened. Merrick has started sleeping longer and longer. Last night he slept for almost ELEVEN hours straight! I don't really know if I should laugh, cry, or dance, but this is such a huge break through and blessing. I am learning very quickly that a rested mama is a happy mama.

Here are just a few of my favorite sleeping pictures.