Sleeping Arrangements

One question that came to our minds when we got our referral was sleeping arrangements for our new daughter. We knew that we wanted our girls to share a room. Was it best to start Abeba out doing that immediately after we got home? We weren't sure. Since Abeba was going to be about 18 months when we got her home, was a crib or a bed going to be best. These all came to mind. Thankfully, people have gone before us in the adoption adventure so we called on their help (Thanks Shelly!).

The advice that we got was to put Abeba in a crib (for safety reasons) and to put her in our room to sleep. This is exactly what we did and we are pleased with how it turned out. Having Abeba in our room was great for the bonding experience and made it easier for me when she awoke. The first few weeks Abeba slept great. The time change didn't affect her at all it seemed. After the first month, Abeba began to have a couple of sleeping issues. She wanted held all night. At first, I was okay with this, I thought it was good for bonding. Then we began to be sleep deprived which in NOT good. We decided that we would pick her up, comfort her and then tell her to go back night, night. She didn't see the logic in this :) So, we had some nights that screaming displeasures were heard, but we persisted and persevered. Eventually, she got the idea and began to sleep through the night again. We were both thankful that that hurdle was over!

After 3 mos. Abeba's sleeping pattern was excellant, so we decided to move her to her new space with her big sister. Hannah was excited to have her sister in her room, finally! Mommy and Daddy were glad to have our space back too. ;)

Abeba occasionally had some night terrors, but they were short lived. I would hold her tightly though them and she eventually calmed down. She has not had any of these for about two months.

Abeba is still in her crib and has not figured how to crawl out of it.....YET! We plan to move her to a regular bed later this winter. Abeba is a great little sleeper. It is such a sweet sight to go in and see her snuggled so peacefully and comfortably in bed. I just love the sight of our children sleeping. It is just too precious!