baby on side + fishtank = happy parents

Wyatt hasn't been getting great sleep so I decided it is my turn to add to the blog. A few months ago Wyatt and I were trying to decide if we should get rid of the fishtank in an effort to create more space and make a second baby room. Turns out, it was fortunate that we didn't.

To preface this explanation: when Peter was born we stayed in the hospital for 5 days. For a good portion of that time he had to stay on a special bed to treat jaundice and was only allowed out for feeding and changes of diapers. As a result by the time we got home from the hospital he had learned to sleep in his own bed for two to three hours at a time. (Notably, the time in the was no cakewalk and involved a lot of fussing and fingersucking).

Because Luke only stayed in the hospital for 23 hours we needed to find a different way to help him become accustomed to his own bed. We got a bassinet from a friend, with hopes of transitioning him from our room to his own over the first week; of course...he had other plans. Unlike Peter, Luke is addicted to sucking and putting things in his mouth. Even when we swaddle him from using his hands, he wakes himself up gumming for the hem of the swaddling blanket. The only way he would sleep for long periods of time was on daddy's chest (my chest is, unfortunately, too tempting). We tried putting Wyatt's worn shirt in the bassinet to give him the comforting scent, but it was without effect. Finally, last night Wyatt took Luke into the office for a little midnight web development while I got some shut-eye between feedings. After 10 minutes, he noticed that Luke had been sleeping soundly and realized that the fishtank had been providing the perfect solution: white noise. Excited from this revelation, Wyatt quickly dragged the bassinet into the office and laid Luke down on his side (also a new thought). Viola!!! He slept for 1 hour without a peep. After the next feeding, I laid him down again in the bassinet on his side and he slept for 2 hours! Success is so sweet.

Thankfully, my mom gave us a white noise maker with timer and volume-adjustment for the crib. Hopefully the transition from fishtank to crib will be much smoother than we had anticipated.