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Times Past

Reading this article about smart cradles made me about J's baby life which feels like a long time ago now. She was a good sleeper but woke up at the crack of dawn and created a huge racket because she could not see anyone around. So we would turn on lights and come up near her and try to make her open her eyes and see people around. There were a few adults around at the time so it was not a problem to have someone show up by her bed. 

But that never solved the problem. I had to get there myself and gently pry her eyes open and tell her to look around. It took some doing because she would clench her eyes even tighter and scream even louder at first. Then after a while, she would relax and open her eyes check out her surroundings. We learned that she liked the blinds pulled up so she could see the the soft sunlight outside. And just like that she would act like nothing happened - ready to get on with her day. This phase lasted for over a month and no one could figure out why. 

J never slept the advertised hours for her age and this was always a topic of discussion on her well-baby visits. The answer was always the same - babies are all different. The hours they sleep vary too. Be that as it may, my day started at crack of dawn though I could generally sleep through the night no problem. While she took her catnaps through the day, I did not have the same luxury. So I ended up just as sleep-deprived and cranky as many other parents whose babies kept them up at night. I am sure they would have appreciated a cradle that did their job for them for the night. For the likes of J, this particular automation would not be a solution. 

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