Sleeping

The biggest problem Rudy had when he came home had to do with sleeping. He was used to co-sleeping with his foster mother. We quickly determined that wasn't for us when he slapped and hit both of us one night as he flailed around. So for our first few weeks, maybe even month or so, we would hold Rudy until he fell asleep. At night this meant the routine could take up to 2 hours. And we had to be sure he was REALLY asleep before putting him in his crib or he would wake up and we'd start all over again. Nap time was really difficult because I would spend 2 hours trying to get him to sleep and then maybe he would sleep for another 2.
I can't remember how it happened but there came a time when Rudy was more comfortable in his crib. So we started putting him in his crib and staying in the room, reading a book of our own, until he fell asleep. It was still a long process but a little easier on us.

Nap time was still a problem, though. One day he fell asleep in the car so I carried him in and put him in his crib. I started baking and after 30 minutes he woke up. I was right in the middle of baking so I ran upstairs thinking I would just have to rock him a little and he'd fall back asleep. When I got upstairs he was wide awake and raring to go. I tried getting him to sleep but no luck. I needed to get back downstairs to my baking and didn't want him under foot, so I gave him some books to read and told him he needed some more time in his crib. Amazingly, it worked. He was happy to read his books and talk to his animals. Thus began a new nap time routine - putting him in his crib with some books or toys and leaving him for an hour or so - if he slept - fine - if not - fine too. It gave him (and Mommy) some down time.

Recently (within the last month) we decided that if he was okay during the day in his crib alone, he should be able to do the same thing at night. So now, after we read books with him, we let him pick some books of his own to take in his crib. And we say good-night and leave the room. The first few nights we had two or three times to reassure him but after that he's been fine. Some nights it may take 15 minutes for him to fall asleep and others an hour. But it's nicer for us to be downstairs instead of sitting in his room while he falls asleep. And if Iwe could find a way to record his conversations with himself, or his animals, I would post them here because Paul and I sit downstairs some nights and just laugh.

Here is Rudy after he fell asleep last night.

And when he woke up this morning. (The room was dark and the flash was shining in his eyes, I think).

Nap time with Tad. Tad was our savior on all our trips to Guatemala but once we got home, Rudy wasn't as interested in him. The past week he's been playing with him a lot again.

And waking up from his nap. He was actually a little tired - he may have slept too long.