Bouncy Ball Remission

I am so thankful for this exercise ball. For the first few months of Emma’s life, the only way we could soothe her and put her to sleep was by gently bouncing on this ball with her in our arms. Nothing else would work, and we tried almost everything. Nursing didn’t work. Neither did swinging, the car seat, a bouncer chair, or gliding. Actually, bouncing her in our arms while we danced worked, but it was exhausting. In the end, this $25 ball was all we needed, and it has worked like magic.

Apparently using an exercise ball to soothe a newborn isn’t a new idea. On Tuesday I went to a parent-baby class at the hospital and they had a few of these balls scattered throughout the classroom for parents to calm their baby. Of all the parents and babies there, Emma and I spent the most time on the ball.

As thankful as I am for the bouncy ball, we are in the process of weaning ourselves off our dependence on it. Emma is getting heavier, and before we know it we’re going to have to use a sling or something else to hold her while we bounce on it. By the end of the day, after four naps, and putting her to bed, my back is killing me. Ben wanted to shoot a harpoon through it a long time ago.

Our strategy has been to gradually reduce the bouncing over time and to try other soothing methods, like patting her on the back or gliding with her. If those don’t work, I’m on the bouncy ball again. If I feel that she’s really calm, I’ll put her in the crib or bassinet.

Of course, more than anything, we probably have to wait for Emma to mature more.

Signs of progress over the last three weeks:

1) Now we just need to bounce ever so slightly for her to calm down and close her eyes.

2) It used to take us 10 minutes of bouncing and 25 minutes sitting in a chair for her to fall into a deep sleep. Now it sometimes takes only 5 minutes of light bouncing and a few minutes sitting in a chair. Sometimes we can take her straight from the bouncy ball to the crib.

3) Several times we’ve been able to put her in the crib while she’s in a light sleep or just drowsy.

4) Once, during our pre-bouncing ritual, which involves sitting in the glider chair and singing to her, she fell asleep in my arms.

5) Three times in the last few days, miracle of miracles, she actually fell asleep on her own in her crib or bassinet, without any crying, while I sang to her. Tonight, she fell asleep next to me while I pretended to fall asleep. She didn’t even need a pacifier. I like to think I was showing her how to go to sleep.

I’m having mixed feelings about this last sign of progress. I do eventually want Emma to sleep on her own. Even now, sometimes it would be really nice to just put her awake in her crib for a nap. But I love putting her to sleep – minus the bouncing. I love to see see her drift off to sleep. Sometimes I’ll just hold her while she naps and stare at her. I could hold her for her entire nap as long as my arms don’t go numb. I don’t want that to entirely go away. But I also need to use Emma’s naps to spend time with Ben, to take care of myself, and to take care of other needs of our family. Now that Emma is going to sleep faster and better, it’s been easier to tend to these things.

I think we still have a long way to go, and we’ve seen setbacks already. That’s okay. She’s only three months old and our backs are getting stronger. But eventually we will say adieu to the bouncy ball; may its retirement from the nursery be long and sweet.

(A really silly set of words I put to the tune of “O, Christmas Tree” in honor of our exercise ball:

O bouncy ball, o bouncy ball,

Where would we be without you?

O bouncy ball, o bouncy ball,

We were dependent on you.

You put our baby girl to sleep.

You soothe her -- such an awesome feat.

O, bouncy ball, o bouncy ball,

We are so thankful for you.)