Sleep.

You would think by the third child that I would have figured this sleep thing out by now.

Clearly, I am doing something wrong. Emma has been in a horrible sleep pattern for, oh about 6 months! She has never been a good sleeper. Always has been a good eater, though! She started our as a cat napper until I finally got her to let me swaddle her. After that, we got to a point where she was actually sleeping for stretches of 4 or 5 hours at a time...I was in heaven!

Then she got too big to swaddle and we went back to her waking up every 2 hours. The only way I could get her back to sleep was to nurse her. I started back at work and then I began the slow descent into crazy.

Now, she refuses to go to sleep on her own. She will fall asleep nursing in my arms and as soon as I try to lay her down in the crib, she is wide awake. In a desperate attempt to get some sleep, I pulled her into bed with me. That crazy baby, as soon as she snuggled right up next to me, she was out like a light. When I try and transfer her back to her bed, wide awake. So back in the bed with me she goes. I know that I am creating bad habits, but I don't know what else to do. When I don't get at least a little sleep, I end up flipping out on my kids and acting like a zombie at work.

Tonight, I laid her down for a repeat performance. Unfortunately, I had bottles to wash and things to do that required two hands. I decided to let her cry it out for a while. So, while I washed bottles, she cried. While I picked up toys, she cried. While I caught the last few minutes of The Office, she cried. She has finally petered out and is sleeping. I wish I could say that she will now sleep for a while, but I am sure that she will be awake before the end of ER.

Someday we will both sleep through the night.