Sick Baby

Claire has a cold I think. For about a week or two, she was waking up pretty congested. Then Weds morning it was making her cough and now it has moved into her chest for real. She sounds so sad. The good news is she is sleeping without a fuss. =) But she is sleeping a lot because she doesn't feel good. =(
This does bring up an interesting topic. Co-sleeping. I never thought I would be one of those people that is ok with this. Let's start off by saying we don't sleep with the baby in the bed every night, all night. But every once in a while, the only way to calm her down is to cuddle with her while she sleeps. That is especially true now while she is sick. It all started in the hospital. The first night after she was born, the nurse brought her in so she could eat. At this point, I was not entirely confident in my mobility, though I could get out of the bed if I wanted to. Well, the nurse brought her in, gave her to me, and left. I fed the baby, laying in the bed, and then thought "well now what do I do? Do I call in the nurse to move her, because I certainly don't feel strong enough to do it myself, or what?" I ended up sleeping with her against my side, my arm around her so she couldn't wiggle out of the bed. I figured I was so drugged up at this point that I wasn't moving in my sleep anyway. We napped together a few more times over the course of the next few days. When we brought her home, she started sleeping in her bassinet next to my side of the bed. One early morning later, she would not go back to sleep after eating. So I snuggled with her in the bed for a minute and she fell asleep. I fell asleep, and was very aware of her the whole time, and never moved. This happens maybe once a week or so. We nap in the bed together. But with her sick, she sleeps much better after her mid-night meal, if she is snuggled with me. (And by mid-night, I really mean early morning. She eats somewhere between 3am and 6am.) So I am torn. I know it's dangerous because I could roll over her or she could fall or get suffocated. But sometimes, that's the only way that we will all get the sleep we need.

Otherwise, I am starting to feel more human and normal. I feel like I am just starting to come out of a fog. We must be getting some kind of schedule down, because I am able to get things done more consistently (and my house is clean! It's a miracle) and I don't feel like I just sat on the couch holding the baby all day. Anyway, I have more stuff to get done before she gets back up.