A full night's rest--Are you jealous? Don't be just yet

It happened. Something miraculous. I had my first full night of sleep and I couldn't believe it. Yes, after five months, my daughter slept longer than she ever has through the night. Four blissful hours, followed by five minutes of nursing followed by... Wait for it... SEVEN hours of sleep. I couldn't believe it. And do you know how it was done? I GOT THE HECK OUT OF HER ROOM!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how it's done. At least for my daughter, this was key for both of us.

I'd been telling my husband we should sleep in our room for months now. But his lack of eagerness to move made me in no rush to move, and so we stayed in the guest bed (which is much more comfortable than our own if I might add) in the nursery.

The night our daughter tried rice cereal for the first time I figured would be a good night to start sleeping in our room again. Just do it cold turkey. Like ripping a band aid off.

I'm not sure what I was so afraid of. She'd been sleeping in her crib for a couple of months now on her soybean mattress. Why does that matter? Well, before having my daughter I researched mattresses like a mad woman paranoid about SIDS, and found one I liked. It's more durable than traditional foam mattresses and uses renewable sources instead of crud oil, it keeps her warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and a bunch of other benefits.

Anyway, as usual she went to bed at 9pm. I put her in her cozy little long sleeved jammies and her Baby Sleep Bag to keep her warm--Or cool, whatever she needs cause it's supposed to regulate her temperature. I passed out shortly after but we crashed in our room for the first time without her since she's been born. I kept her monitor near my head but had it turned down pretty low. Which sorta explains why my husband woke me up at 1am saying Lil' J was crying. I couldn't believe he heard her before me and for some weird reason I felt a little guilty.

I fed her then put her back to bed. She woke up again at about 4:30 to eat and quickly fell back asleep. She didn't wake up again until the sun was up at 7am, and by then I was ready to snuggle with her so I did, and rested with her before I had to get ready for work. Waking up just twice in a night was really good for her.

The next night I had her monitor up louder so I heard her when she woke up at 1am. She whined a little when I put her back down but I patted her bottom for a few moments and she was back asleep. I woke up at 4:30 hearing her laugh in her sleep. I realized had I heard that when we were in her room I probably would have sat up to feed her. I dozed back off.

I woke up again at five wondering if I slept through her cries. I dozed back off.

I woke up again just before 7am to use the restroom and couldn't believe she wasn't awake yet. She had slept six hours straight for the first time in months. I felt fully rested so I decided to pump a little while I waited for her to wake up.

An hour and a half later she finally called to me to come and get her. My daughter slept seven and a half hours in a row! She went to bed at 9pm and woke up for the day at 8:30am.

HALLEFREAKINLUJAH. Was her sleep bag actually keeping her asleep? That's what it says on the box! It says babies wake up a lot cause they get too hot or cold and the natural fibers (merino wool) it's made of keeps her cozy. Or was it because we were out of her room? Who cares?! I got sleep!

I picked her up, snuggled and nursed her for quite awhile and told her repeatedly how much I loved her. She smiled, looked so refreshed, and so did I.

The world seemed a little brighter that day and has as she's slept stretches of 6-10 hours. Yes 10 hours. I didn't know that was possible. Houston, we've had a breakthrough, and it ROCKS! ...Or at least it did while it lasted.

Yea, by ROCKS, I mean it rockED. Her new awesome sleep routine lasted, for several weeks. But this week it's been horrible again. Up every two hours! I'm wracking my brain trying to see what we're doing differently. Every night is a new experiment. We're still using the sleep bag, still not in her room, still using the same mattress. What's up with my crazy daughter? I haven't a clue! My husband and I always joke that maybe she's teething or having a growth spurt, because that's the excuse everyone gives when your baby is getting on your nerves.

So that's my guess. Another growth spurt. Or maybe her first little tooth is about to pop up. Just pray for me and that my baby who loves to sleep will return. I'm also going to try some Karma. Maybe doing a giveaway for a $260 crib mattress will bring good sleep Karma.

PS: Karma worked cause I wrote this post last night before bed and am waking up now, BEFORE my daughter who has been sleeping for more than 8 hours straight (yes I went and checked on her, she's still breathing)!! Yay!! So hopefully the following prize will help in bringing another mama some much needed rest!

It's a Sealy® Posturepedic™ Springfree® Soybean & Latex Foam-Core Crib Mattress. It's by the #1 baby mattress brand. There are no springs, so it's insanely light. It's eco-friendly (which everyone is obsessed with these days). The soybeans in the mattress were grown right here in the USA, which is cool I guess, but my favorite part about it--It's a 2-stage mattress! So one side is firm for her infant stage, and the other stage is a little softer for her toddler stage, so we won't need to buy another mattress for her for a while. They retail for $260 ($197 at Walmart).

Everyone who comments on this post before January 20th is entered. You can get ONE extra entry for letting me know another Kolcraft product you think looks pretty cool or if you are a blog follower of mine, or follow @Kolcraft on Twitter or Facebook and tell them you saw my giveaway. Just leave another comment to let me know (only up to 2 comments total). Winner will be announced on my facebook page. Good luck!
*Thanks Kolcraft and BabySleepBags.com for sending products to try so I could give an honest review about them and how I've used them.