I had high hopes Baby Y would have a seamless transition to our new home since he’s a good traveler and sleeps OK on the road. But after about a week in our new digs, sleep is still spotty.

What makes it harder is that before our move, he had been sleeping through the night for about a week – something that had never happened for more than a night or two in his whole life! Was that the beginning of the new normal? I may never know.

We’ve kept as much the same from his old nursery and nap/bedtime routine as possible, but the kiddo has also been battling a cold. Combined with new surroundings, it has made for a challenging week. I’ve been coping, but I’ve had to bust out my two last-resort, baby-must-sleep methods more often: the car nap and desperation co-sleeping.

What my backseat has looked like lately; checking out the new digs.

ADVERTISEMENT
Baby Y has taken his share of car naps. Most of them have been out of convenience when we’re on the road already. We did have one rocky period at 6-7 months when he dropped to two naps and I became intimately familiar with the back roads near our old house; otherwise, I’ve tried not to get in the habit of driving him around to sleep. It’s bad for the environment, not to mention my wallet every time I fill up the car!

The first few days after moving, though, we were in the car once a day. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a warped version of “Speed” – hitting the highway usually means better quality naps, while stop-and-go traffic can be risky. Silver lining: At least I got to familiarize myself with our new city!

Desperation cosleeping, though … oh, how I hate it. Friday night, Papa Y and I planned to meet one of his colleagues for dinner and drinks. The plan was to put Baby Y to bed and leave the monitor with my in-laws, who were in town to help watch the kiddo while we got settled. I got ready – nice clothes! makeup! hair blown dry! – before I put Baby Y through his bedtime routine.

Of course, when I put him in his crib, instead of peacefully flopping onto his tummy to snooze, he looked at me like I was insane and SCREAMED. I left the room in hopes that he’d work it out. No dice. Went back in and comforted him, then left again. More screaming. Papa Y went in to try to soothe him with his favorite tune, “Here Comes the Sun” – nada. My mother-in-law tried to shoo me out the door, saying she’d play with Baby Y some more, but I knew that would only make a bad situation worse. The kid was tired.

Papa Y left without me, and Baby Y finally conked out in my bed (after pulling my hair and scratching my face for about 10 minutes, of course). I ended up silently eating my dinner – a peanut butter sandwich and a banana – as he snoozed beside me in the dark. So much for a nice night out!

The past couple of nights have been better, but I won’t say much more than that for fear that I’ll jinx our progress. I will say that the late-night nursing sessions I hoped we’d dropped for good have returned.

Have you moved with a baby or a toddler? Any advice on how to ease their transition?