Happy New Year everyone!

I added 10 new pictures. As per usual, click the bunny above to see them.

Kris and I have been attempting to put Annika to sleep in her crib at night instead of with us. I would love her to sleep cuddled up to me forever, but Kris says that's not reasonable. Whatever! :) Anyway, I say attempting because she usually doesn't sleep there long. The last two nights it was an hour each time before she woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep there. Tonight, it was a no go after 40 minutes of trying. She slept for almost 2 hours in my arms downstairs as I was finishing a book about (oh, the irony) sleep and when I went to put her down, she wouldn't stay in her crib. I don't blame her. Hmm, Mommy's arms or this hard crib mattress. But now that I've finished the book, I'll start introducing some of the ideas in it. I've introduced a "lovey" - a toy that she gets only when it sleepy time. And we're starting a bedtime routine. And we're going to make bedtime a set time (or about a set time - we have to be a little flexible) so that each day she knows when these certain things happen at this certain time, it's time to sleep. She seems to be a baby that needs to go to bed early, like around 7pm, so that's when we're going to have to be home from now on so she can get to bed. Hopefully a few weeks (or a month or two) of this and we won't have to be so rigid about bedtime at this certain hour. We're also going to have Annika "play" in her crib. Basically, put her in there a couple times a day with toys while we're also in the room doing other things (like laundry, etc.) so that her crib is not associated with "bad things" like being away from mommy and daddy. The theory behind this is that if she wakes in the middle of the night, she won't necessarily need mommy or daddy because her crib is not a "bad" place and she can go back to sleep. The other thing I'm going to do is introduce some sound as sleep cues. I'm going to find a relaxing CD to play during our bedtime ritual so that she can relax and fall asleep to it. Then, you gradually lower the volume over time until it eventually is completely off and the baby doesn't need it to fall asleep. I think these are all great ideas. I don't expect Annika to sleep through the night until she's ready. And if she truly hates sleeping in her crib, then she can sleep with us longer. But I like these gentle ways to help her sleep through the night and to sleep in her crib. I do not believe in the cry-it-out method and Kris and I will not be trying that. Over 50% of toddlers don't sleep through the night so why should my (almost) 4 month old. By the way, I got all these ideas from Elizabeth Pantley's "the no-cry sleep solution" which was recommended to me by a whole bunch of different people.