Sleep is for the weak: A series*

Before Camille's arrival, infant sleep was not the first thing that came to mind when I thought of motherhood.  Yet once reality hits, I now realize that it is the topic that will drive this mother insane.

How the heck do I get my baby to SLEEP?!?!?!

Camille was a good sleeper during the first few weeks.  She would prefer sleeping to eating (I am pretty sure she still does, smart girl).  Then she had a funky week of staying up at night.  After that wrinkle got fixed, it still continues to be a battle to get her to sleep.

Like most inexperienced first-time parents, we would go through the routine of feeding her at night and then gently putting her down on her crib...only to find that the squirmy infant has the mutant ability to wake herself up just as soon as her body leaves your arms.  And then there's the rocking and tapping and walking around and re-feeding until the zombie baby goes back to sleep.  Then she is set down and, miraculously, stays asleep.  At which point, I would emerge from the bedroom with the "Mission Accomplished" banner boldly waving behind me!

I can haz sucksess

Of course, we all know that it's too good to be true.  Yes, zombie baby would wake up and the process starts all over again.

Some time during the third month, I decided to really learn how to master side-lying nursing.  This did the trick!  I now feed her laying down and she would just fall asleep.  Up until a couple of days ago, her crib was sidecarred to our bed so all I had to do was scoot her over a bit to the center of the crib when she is in the "limp limb" stage of sleep.  Nighttime parenting: win (for now).

The thing now is getting her to nap.  I just don't know how to do it.  What I've done is wait until she shows signs of sleepiness (e.g., rubbing eyes, disinterest in toys, etc.) and I walk around with her until she is very calm.  And then I cradle her and rock her.  As I lower her down from my shoulder into a cradle position, she gets very upset and would cry anywhere from 30 seconds to 15 minutes until she falls asleep.  Ugh!  Other things that have worked consistently are putting her in a car seat (and either drive or just walk around with it) or carrying her in a sling/carrier.  The swing no longer works, unfortunately :(

Some of you may wonder, "Why don't you just nurse her to nap?"  I nurse Camille four times a day (10am, 2pm, 6pm, and 10pm) and her nap times are intentionally situated outside of these feeding times.  That is because if I establish this nursing-to-sleep pattern (which I wholeheartedly believe is healthy), it's just not going to work when I go back to school in June.   So for now, it's just nursing to sleep at night.  I still need a nap time solution.

I can already sense that Camille is going to be a high maintenance girl.  I know that we should somehow sleep train her.  But how?  Is it okay to nurse her to sleep at night but train her to sleep on her own for naps?  I know that there are many infant sleep books out there.  But I don't like to read.  So, you know, that's not going to fly.

I'd love to get your input into this whole sleep situation.  What did you do with your kid(s)?  What were some aspects that you wish you had known or done?  What advice do you have for us?

Thanks in advance!  We may not apply your method or read the books you recommend...but that does not mean we don't like or respect you.  If you'd like, you can even post anonymously.

So, yes, please help!

*I'm just anticipating that this is going to be an ongoing thing...