Evie's Entourage

In the beginning, Evie slept in our bed. Chris and I never planned to have her in our bed, but it happened nonetheless. She slept better with us, therefore we slept better.

When Evie was about four months old, she rolled out of the bed. Twice. It was time to move her to her crib. I agonized about it, but Evie did fine. She slept in her bed, no crib bumper or blanket or stuffed animal. Just her and the sheet. When she needed me, about once a night, I made the trip to her room. I brought her into our bed, nursed her until she was asleep, and walked back down the hall to put her in her crib. She slept through the night a couple of times, and Chris and I knew that any day, we'd be the parents of a great sleeper.

Fast forward a few months, and Evie was six months old. She went through a phase where she woke up three, four, five times a night. She did not want to go back to her room when she was finished nursing. We let her cry it out once, for a long three hours where she wailed and choked. The next morning, I told Chris we would never do that again. We went to Borders that very day and bought The No-Cry Sleep Solution. I agree much more with the Dr. Sears approach than the Ferber method, so this book was more in tune with my parenting style.

One of the ideas the author presents is the introduction of a lovey. And so it began. We bought a tiny pink blanket, no bigger than a diaper. (Actually, we bought five. It would stink to get her attached to something and lose it.) Every time I nursed her, the lovey was between us. Eventually, it went into the crib with her. So it was Evie and the lovey. It was cute to watch as she got older. She'd ball up the lovey like a little pillow and sleep on it. It became her friend. Of course, she still didn't sleep through the night, but she was back to waking up just once.

Then, springtime in the Midwest arrived. Evie's room has a powerful vent, and we were afraid the air conditioning could make her cold. I began to cover her with a small blanket. When I take her out of her crib to nurse at night, or when she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, I must bring the lovey AND the blanket. YOU MAY NOT LEAVE A MAN BEHIND. So it was Evie and the lovey and the blanket. It was cute to watch her again. She balled up the lovey like a little pillow and she balled up the blanket and laid her stomach over it.

Then, about two months ago, Evie discovered binkys. I had tried to get her hooked on pacifiers when she was an infant, but she wanted nothing to do with them. Now she can't get enough. The funny thing is, she doesn't even suck on the binky. She puts it in her mouth for a few seconds, then pops it out and just holds it. It must be comforting to know it's there, should she need it. So it was Evie and the lovey and the blanket and the binky. Her head rested on the lovey like a pillow, her tummy rested on the blanket, and she clutched the binky.

Then, Evie became obsessed with turtles. The one from the zoo made it into her bed. The Girls gave her a smaller turtle, which she also wanted in the crib. So it was Evie and the lovey and the blanket and the binky and the turtle and the Other Turtle. Her head rested on the lovey like a pillow. Sometimes she managed to get the Other Turtle under her head, too. Now she laid right on top of the turtle. She slept under the blanket, clutching the binky.

For some time, GaGa has been fostering another obsession for Evie - pillows. Pillows are such an interesting concept to my daughter. Last night, she had a melt-down because she wanted Chris' pillow. So the beautiful embroidered pillow from Aunt Joy made it's way into the crib. It's just her size, and Evie is so happy to have it. So now it's Evie and the lovey and the blanket and the binky and the turtle and the Other Turtle and the pillow.

She still doesn't sleep through the night.

Anyone care to join her? There's still room in the crib.