Ruby's sleeping habits change often. As far as I can tell this mostly has to do with what's going on in her life at that moment.

Right now the hammock is back for naps, but as you can see, it won't be for much longer! So far I'm the only one who can get to nap in her bed, so David and Marie (and me at times) are getting the most out of the hammock as long as it lasts.

As for nighttime sleeping, we've decided to go the co-sleeping route for the time-being. A friend commented on my previous posting about her new bedding arrangement, thinking that this was how most babies sleep in the U.S. Not true. Co-sleeping is probably a fringe thing; we don't have many friends who have chosen to co-sleep beyond the first few months. But it's working for us.

Most nights Ruby goes to bed around 7:30pm. On a good night she'll stay asleep until 1am. Sometimes she already wants a snack at 11pm though. Then she'll generally wake up at 3am and 5am-ish. She's ready for her day to start at 6:30am.

If I have the energy to be awake for more than it would otherwise take me to grab her, get her nursing and then go back to sleep, I'll try to get her to go back to sleep at 3am without nursing her. Once she stops waking up at 3am as a result I'll do the same with the 1am session.

But no rush, really. Because I don't have to get up, most mornings, even with 2-3 nursing sessions, I can't really remember how often she woke up. I stay asleep for the most part (and she doesn't cry, which helps), although I'm awake enough to enjoy cuddling with her all night long and as far as I can tell, she seems pretty happy to be cuddling too!

Lately, however, she's struggling with her new-found motor skills. Like I mentioned a few posts ago, she's rolling from her back to her stomach and back with great ease these days. Suddenly she likes to sleep on her stomach, but not when she's falling asleep. So, an hour into her nap or bedtime, she'll wake up on her stomach, head in the air, with a confused look on her face, wondering how she got there and what to do next. With eyelids already drooping shut she needs some reassuring that all is well. A backrub is then a must and off she goes again, back to the land of dreamers.

Overall, we're pretty happy with her sleeping habits. I've found that people tend to label kids as good or bad sleepers based on a bunch of different criteria. Each family has different expectations and needs and so I've slowly come to realize that comparing Ruby's sleeping habits to someone else's kid just makes me lose sight of what I want for her and need for myself.