Sleep is for the Weak

Dear Andy,
You don't really like to sleep. Well, I take that back. You don't like to sleep alone. I remember when you were a few weeks old, waking up every couple hours (or not sleeping at all at night), the pediatrician telling us "when he gets to be 13 pounds, he'll sleep through the night!" Well, not so much, partly because you are a big boy so you were 13 pounds when you were 2 months old or so. There have been times where you've slept well, mostly when Daddy was taking you to the pool during the summer and you were swimming the day away, and times when you haven't slept well. I have spent countless hours reading books and articles and websites about baby sleep. I've asked for advice and realized that asking for advice isn't always the best idea.

Last night, you went to sleep in your crib and woke up at 9:30pm quite upset. You were crying and shaking. You aren't a fan of your crib. I would love for you to love it, but I can't force that on you. I rocked you to sleep, and you snuggled up with one hand on the neckline of my shirt, and I could have sat there like that all night. But I have to sleep, too. So I put you back in your crib and you sensed that crib mattress coming, and woke back up. I'm not a good one for letting you cry (hence why I don't ask for much advice from people anymore) so I picked you up and brought you into our room.

You laid between Daddy and me, put one hand on each of us, let out a happy sigh, smiled and went to sleep. You woke up again at midnight at 3. And 5. And you know what? There is something very special about watching you sleep. You look so content there with us, knowing that you're secure and loved and ok. So maybe you don't "sleep through the night." But we get to hold you and snuggle you and feel your sleepy breath on our faces. Hopefully you'll sleep longer before the age of 20. In the meantime I'll just drink lots of coffee in the morning.