Make it Better

For the first 7 months of Zuzu's life she slept in a contraption called an Amby Baby Hammock (http://www.ambybaby.com/) It was the perfect fix for her acid reflux and one overly anxious mama. The Amby is a sleeping hammock that sways with the baby's tiniest fidget and holds them tightly in a cocoon of goodness. Riley and I used to sit and watch her sleep, not just because we loved her, but because we wished we had an Amby too. The jealousy was surprising. Let's just say that if you knew what it was like to fall asleep on a cloud while being sung to by butterflies, you would know what it was like to fall asleep in an Amby. Lucky little kid. Well as it seems must happen with most lovely things...the age of the Amby has had to come to an end. The Zuzumeister is growing up quickly and sadly one cannot be sung to sleep by butterflies forever. Yesterday while she played at my feet I took down the Amby and set up her crib. By all rights the crib should be appreciated as thoroughly as the hammock. It is solid wood (a real luxury in our little house), painted a fine distressed black and and topped with bedding sweet as cream. (http://www.littokids.com/magic_garden.html)

I didn't think the transition from cloud to crib would be very traumatic. Right. At nap time our little bug SCREAMED for 45 minutes before finally settling tightly into the corner of the crib. I spent the entire time sitting just outside her door (unseen) or rubbing her back as she sobbed into the sheets. It was awful. I was positive her first words would be found in the crying mess and that they would be of the four letter variety. Bed time was only a little better.

Today I kept her awake an hour past normal naptime, before I put her into the pack and play at my parent's house. She finally fell asleep after pulling her blanket over her face. Little broken hearted mama had to let her baby learn to cocoon herself. I realize now that my little babypi must have felt so vulnerable in her big new crib. Where was the cloud? Hello, I am missing some singing bugs! Anybody seen them? Everything was so much harder, so much bigger. I hate that at 7 months I am already having to strip her of bits of her childhood. I want her to stay on our cloud. I hope she knows I will always be just outside the door, that my heart breaks with hers, that I will always be good for a back rub, even if that is all I can give.