My Big Independent Babe.

I can't believe our family survived last week.  I staffed over 175 clinic visits, supervised two circumcisions, facilitated sending two patients to the ER, did every drop off/pick up, kept the house chica-worthy, and put Elena to bed in her new room every night.  My compatriots were just as formidable this week.  Josh was off to the hospital by 6/6:15 every morning after preparing Elena's lunch, and home after 9:30 pm every night except Friday (what a treat to be able to eat dinner as a family!).  After a teary Monday evening pickup ("I want my Mommy!  I want my Mommy!" was what I heard as I opened her classroom door at 5:40 pm), the rest of the week was smooth despite being at daycare from 7:20ish to 5:45ish every day.  And the dogs didn't destroy anything or poop/pee/vomit anywhere in the house as a protest to getting no activity this week.

I'm so happy to have a potentially quiet week coming up in comparison!

Last weekend we converted our guest room into Elena's room.  Our guest room was used by my family about 3-4 times per year, but mostly by our laundry pile, hence the nickname of my aging full-sized bed "The Bed of Laundry".  The bed of laundry, as anyone who has slept in it can attest, is saggy.  Saggy in the middle, lying on a box spring whose beams are broken.  It was time to move on, which is why the bed is now in our backyard, awaiting final arrangements (Goodwill for the mattress, brush and bulky in September for the box spring?).

Elena's resulting room is a lavender sea of serenity, punctuated by her little pink kitchen, our CD-less de-junked shelving unit, and the top of the line twin bed that my then-single husband bought himself upon moving into the Einstein housing in med school at age 22.  (Maybe age 22 is still too young to be forward-looking, but I like to tease Josh about his mini-bed which is so non-conducive to having a snuggle buddy.)  Elena took to her new room immediately, and has been sleeping there all week.  She still wakes up most nights in the middle of the night, calling out for me (though last night it was, "Daddy?  Daddy?").  Thankfully she either stays in bed while calling out, or takes my hand and turns back to her bed to be soothed back to sleep without protest.  Yesterday morning she woke at her post-vacation 5:15, and I went to see if I could snuggle and nurse her back to sleep in our bed.  As I carried her out of her room she turned her head and held out a longing hand towards her bed with a whiny, "Bed??!"  Once in our bed, she on/off snoozed/nursed until 7 am (thank GOD), but that one little wistful glance back at her bed really solidified the fact that our co-sleeping toddler is gone forever, and gone before the age of 2.

That was quick.  Less than two years of watching our little one fall asleep and wake up by our sides.  If we didn't have another one coming so soon I think I'd be even more broken up about it.  I often felt really guilty about the seldom-used beautiful crib that our parents bought us for Elena, until the night she climbed out of it.  But a thing is just a thing, and I am so grateful for all the hours of snuggling that co-sleeping afforded us.  Perhaps our surprisingly easy transition to getting Elena to her own bed is a reward for nearly two years of interrupted sleep, but I prefer to be a big egocentric and say that our physical closeness during sleep facilitated this easy transition.  Sleeping nestled between two parents must be the ultimate in feeling safe, and within the support of that guaranteed safety, Elena's independence was free to develop.  If you don't buy it, check out some of the stuff from Attachment Parenting.

I went to a breastfeeding mini-conference while still on vacation, which featured a talk from an ob/gyn on prenatal, delivery, and immediate postpartum support of breast feeding, as well as from a pediatrician on postpartum support of breastfeeding.  (Why they just didn't ask a family physician to do the whole thing is beyond me, but hey, what do I know?)  After the pediatrician's talk, one of the attendees asked about advising parents who wish to co-sleep, since there is data to suggest that co-sleeping helps facilitate breastfeeding and maternal/child bonding.  Now, I don't know what this woman does in practice, or what she did in her own home, but I do understand that if you are part of an event that is offering CME (continuing medical education) credit to physicians, you probably have to uphold the policy statements of the organization to which you belong.  So the pediatrician basically said that she advises parents to put their baby to sleep in a crib in the parents' room, and she advises against bedsharing, which is consistent with the AAP's policy statement on reducing risk factors for SIDS.  I was really disappointed by her advice, and chimed in that we can give advice to our patients but that it often falls on deaf ears.  I directed the attendee to the Attachment Parenting's website for information about safe co-sleeping practices because I feel that if a mom is asking the doctor about co-sleeping, chances are they're already doing it anyway--why not direct them to information to keep the baby safe in that practice?

I think I posted the link to this article previously, but just love it so much, so here it is again: Why Babies Should Never Sleep Alone.

Okay, I'll step off my soap box now and enjoy Elena's nap by my side in our bed while Josh snoozes away in her bed...