Sleep when the baby sleeps?

After 2 glorious weeks having Bill home, it was inevitable that he would have to return to work sometime. It was a trying first week going it alone, to say the least. We had to figure out a sleep schedule, so that both Bill and I were getting a few hours of sleep. At the beginning of the week, it was really rough. Everyone has been telling me to make sure I "sleep when the baby sleeps". Here is my question... what if the baby doesn't sleep?!? During the first couple of days when Bill was back at work, it seemed as if Andrew was up ALL day. The only way he would sleep any length of time is if he was sleeping on me. Once I would get up to put him in his bassinet, he was awake and screaming within minutes. The second day Bill came home from work, I burst into tears. The job of being a parent is SO much harder than anyone ever tells you.

By the middle of the week, I decided that I just needed to keep putting Andrew in his bassinet and keep trying to get him to sleep in there. It meant that I was extremely irritable by the time Bill got home each day, since I was  definitely NOT sleeping when the baby slept. By the end of the week though, it seemed to be working. Andrew ended up sleeping in his bassinet for 3 whole hours. Of course, this is the time I should have been sleeping myself, but I was so shocked that the bassinet was working. I had to keep checking on him every 5-10 minutes to make sure he was still breathing.

He slept for 3 whole hours in here! :)

Since last week, Drew has been taking to his bassinet much better. He will take at least a couple of naps in there each day, making it a little easier to get some rest myself. He's even started sleeping in his bouncer when I take showers. I put it in front of the bathroom door so I can peek through the shower curtain at him. With the water running and the fan on in the bathroom, he is lulled to sleep almost every day. It's little tricks like this that I'm sure will be lifesavers! 

Another thing I wanted to try this week was "tummy time". Drew is so strong and has been lifting his head on his own when we hold him. He definitely does not have a really floppy head like a lot of more "fragile" newborns. In order to strengthen his neck muscles, tummy time is recommended. As the pictures show, he did NOT like tummy time. We'll keep trying though! 

I can't believe he will be a month old in just a few days. Time really is flying by, and I'm sure that it will continue to fly for as long as I'm his mom. As trying as these days are and as tired as I am, I am really trying to cherish this time because I know he won't be this little forever. I'm so glad he's my little "stinka-stinka". :)