The conversations with my pediatrician that literally took my sleep away

Now that our daughter is "older" and revisions are not so frequent, I miss our pediatrician. And that good woman (and her nurse) are, without knowing it, an inexhaustible source of hilarious anecdotes that, together, form a fun compendium that illustrates quite well the roller coaster that is the first year and a half of paternity as far as sleep is concerned.

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First visit

The first visit to the pediatrician is like a first appointment. You want to make a good impression and you are full of expectations and fears of how the person will be largely responsible for the health of your offspring.

We went with the homework done: the clean girl, the backpack with all the accessories, our doubts pointed in a notebook ... And everything went very well until it was time to talk about sleeping.

-How's the girl sleeping?

- Pretty good, fortunately.

-And do you sleep in your crib?

-Yes, well, it's colecho.

-Well, well, don't you smoke?

-Nerd.

- And he sleeps on his back, doesn't he?

-Yes, we lay her on her back, what happens is that she turns around and turns on her side.

-But you have to sleep up to reduce the risk of sudden death.

-Yeah, we know, but it turns around alone and changes its position all night.

-But you have to sleep on your back.

-Already but…

- (Look at “it's your daughter, do what you want”, and end of the conversation)

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Oh! These parents who want to sleep

Very soon we discovered that what turned around was going to be the least of our problem, because a few days later our daughter decided that she just wanted to sleep on us, that the cradle had skewers, so on the next visit to the pediatrician we were frank:

-How's the little girl sleeping?

-The truth is that very well, sometimes he sleeps more than 8 hours in a row.

-Ah well, are you still sleeping in your crib?

-Eeeeeh ... no, if we leave her in her crib she wakes up.

-And where do you sleep?

-With us in bed.

- (Scare face) Well, you have to be very careful not to crush her.

-Steeee ... That's not a problem, sleep on top of one of us.

- (Panic face) But do you sleep on your back, don't you?

-Mmmm ... No, sleep hugging.

-…

Nor did he answer us, he looked at us again with his face of "she is your daughter, there you" and changed the subject.

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We are always late

It goes without saying that it took us weeks of sweat, tears and many hours of sleep to finally get the girl would sleep again in her crib. First we got him to sleep in a kind of nest between us in the bed - we fit the three of miracles - then move the nest between the crib and his mother, later he slept with the nest in his crib and, finally, Let him sleep without the happy nest.

So the next visit to the pediatrician we were filled with pride for the feat accomplished.

Naive of us.

-How's the girl sleeping?

-Very well, we have managed to sleep in his crib.

-Well good (without giving it much importance) But do you sleep in the crib?

-I'm ... how? No, he sleeps in his chest or arms.

-Well, you have to start accustoming her to sleeping directly alone in the crib.

-…

I didn't say anything, but inside I shouted loudly "ma'am, don't give us a break!"

Moving to your room

When we finally got the little girl to fall asleep in her mini-cradle, a couple of months after she turned half a year she stayed small and it was time to move her to the crib of her room. A whole change for her (and for us) so instead of sleeping in the crib, we slept with us in our bed and then took her to her room. Crazy about us!

- The girl already sleeps in her room?

-Yes Yes.

-And you sleep alone without chest or arms.

-Yes, yes, only that we lay her down in our bed to sleep and then we take her.

-Nerd! You have to fall asleep directly in your room!

-Ains ...

The saga continues

In the end we get him to sleep in his room, with the intermediate step of sleeping in his arms in a rocking chair next to him - which we still use when he is not well or is powerful - but finally most of the nights he sleeps "alone" in his crib.

But on the last visit, about a year and a half ...

-Well what, the girl already sleeps alone in her crib?

-Yes, of course, we leave her awake and after a while she falls asleep.

-But do you leave her alone in the room to sleep?

-No, woman, we are not ogres, we stay with her singing, talking or reading a story until she falls asleep.

-It's that I should fall asleep alone without you.

-Hahahahahahaha!

-It wasn't a joke.

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And in those we are. At the moment he is 21 months old and we have not started trying. In fact, with summer they have changed their sleeping habits, and more than one night they sleep with us or in their arms. And nothing happens.

Because in the end we have decided that the conversations with our pediatrician are not going to take away our sleep. Nor is it a matter of having to traumatize the girl to sleep alone, that it is one thing not to sleep in her arms forever and another very different to leave the room leaving her crying, even if you come back every time to comfort her. And, of course, we will continue to bring her to bed with us if she wakes up in the middle of the night crying.

And you, how are your little ones sleeping? Do they sleep alone in their crib or do they sleep with you? Have your pediatricians scolded you a lot? Why do they insist so much on them sleeping alone?

Photos | Unsplash

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