12 Weeks... No shit!

Today Ethan is twelve weeks old. To me, time seems to speed up with each year that passes, but when I had a kid that seemed to go into turbo mode. There have been times in the last month when I've actually stopped and wondered when they made the week 5 days instead of 7. Give me back my missing days! And add a few extra ones in there while you're at it! How about Funday, which would come between Monday and Tuesday? And then Mursday? Mursday would fall between Thursday and Friday. I considered adding Faterday, too, but I am pretty sure that most women would object to that one.

I promised myself that on Ethan's 12 week birthday I would begin OPERATION:SLEEP IN YO' CRIB CHILD. This morning I brought out the crib bedding set that's been living under Ethan's crib since before he was born. I hid it there and kind of forgot about it, simply because I thought it was hideous. It was a gift I'd forgot to exchange. As a whole it's actually really cute, now that it's on the crib. The theme is teddy bears and stars, and the bear is leaning on his little friend the stuffed rabbit and he's holding a green "blankie". Sure, he's also wearing denim overalls, but THIS IS TEXAS PEOPLE. Let's just be glad he's not leaning on a spitoon with a big mouthful of tobacco, holding a loaded shotgun. It could always totally be worse.

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I also changed his mobile from the boring newborn black n' white pieces that had been collecting dust to more colorful and age appropriate (and much less creepy!) patterns and pictures. Anyway, this morning after breakfast I laid Ethan down in his crib and walked away. Usually at this time of the day I lump him into his Graco swing and take a shower. He almost always falls asleep and this is what I call his mid-morning nap. My hope was that I'd stick him in his crib, take a shower and come out to find him fast asleep. After my shower I checked on him and he was still staring up at his mobile, the same as he'd been doing thirty minutes before. I'll call myself an optimist and see the glass as half full; this was simply a time for Ethan to 'get familiar' with his crib. I guess that is kind of necessary if I want the transition from swing/mommy's bed to crib to be nice and smooth. I really don't want to lose any sleep over this. And I surely don't want Ethan to lose any sleep over this. We're in such a good place right now that I must be crazy to disrupt the routine we've got going on. So, first we'll become "comfortable" and "familiar" with the crib. Next, we'll try napping in the crib, which I actually just tried for his afternoon nap with ZERO success. But, consistency is going to be key, and since I'm not quite ready to let him 'cry it out', I'd say that TRYING to get him to nap in his crib for an entire HOUR this afternoon shows that I mean business. I'll try again this evening and then start the whole thing over tomorrow. Once he's napping in his crib, we'll start putting him in there at night, too. One thing at a time, I guess.

I'm really hoping that I am the one making this more difficult than it has to be. Maybe, after a week or so, Ethan will suprise me and one day he'll just FALL. ASLEEP. IN. HIS. CRIB. The only way to find out is to keep trying. I would really love to hear how you all get your little ones to sleep. I'm told that the majority require some rocking/walking/strollering/jiggling. To me this is a daunting task, especially when you're expected to do it before practically every nap and each night before bed, and then again after the nighttime feeding. I WELCOME ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS! I can only fucking jiggle and rock for so long, but I might be able to go a little longer if I knew that parents across the world were doing the same damn thing.