Snuggles (Chai Shortbread)

One of my favorite nights of the year happened several weeks ago:  the night we put the flannel sheets on the bed.  I love flannel sheets.  There's something so incredible about snuggling down under the warmth and softness of cozy sheets.  It makes it super duper awfully hard to get out of them in the morning.  Especially when you're snuggled in flannel sheets with a cuddly little warm body.

Since bringing Chase home, he's slept in the bassinet beside our bed.  Sometimes the bassinet is down at the bottom of the bed, and sometimes I get paranoid/over-protective/lovey and pull it up to the top so that I can watch him (OK, and stay under the flannel sheets).  Occasionally I'll put him down to nap in his crib in his room if I'm doing things upstairs, but he doesn't really sleep there very often.  We worked really hard on the nursery (OK, so hubs worked really hard on the nursery) and sometimes I feel guilty that we don't really spend much time in there.  Whenever I think about putting him to bed there, though, so far away from us (OK, it's like 20 feet and a few steps away) I start to have a mommy panic attack.  What if something happens in the middle of the night?  What if he needs me?  What if he wakes up and he's lonely?  What if I have to walk over there in the cold?  Hubs laughs at my new mommy nuttiness, but I know that he also likes to wake up and listen to him breathe.  Plus, it's so nice to be able to reach right over for him and snuggle in those cozy flannel sheets.

Lately I've realized that if he keeps up this growing 1 inch every 9.7 minutes, he's not going to fit in the bassinet forever.  Last night, in a fit of panicky insomnia, I did a little research on co-sleeper bassinets and on co-sleeping in general.  Apparently the two schools of thought are that co-sleeping is dangerous and maladaptive for the baby and encourages dependence and over-attachment OR it's natural throughout the rest of the world and promotes healthy development, trust and independence and reduces the risk of SIDS if done properly.  Now, technically we're not sharing a bed, we're sharing a room, since though I do spend hours snuggling with him in the morning when I'm awake, he doesn't sleep nights in the actual bed with us.  After reading everything I could find at 2 am on my 3.5 inch iPhone screen, my mommy instinct is still to keep him as close to me as possible, and since I'm nursing it's so easy to just reach over and get him whenever he's hungry. 

But eventually he'll have to go into his own room, either because he's ready, I'm ready (yeah right) or he outgrows any other options.  So tell me, dear mommy readers, what do you think?  Did your newborns stay with you or did they go into the nursery right away?  When did they sleep on their own?

And while you're warm and cozy, make yourself some chai spiced shortbread cookies.  They're a perfect snack for snuggling up with your favorite baby, puppy, husband or cup of tea.  Or, if you're as blessed as I am, all of the above.

Chai Shortbread Cookies

(Created by me!)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon chai spice (see below)

1 cup flour

Time and temperature:  400 degrees for 8 minutes

To make the chai spice, combine the following and stir well:

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

(This is a great combination to have on hand in case you want to spice up sugar cookies, cream cheese, apples or any number of other things.)

Cream the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.  Add the vanilla and the spice mix.  Slowly stir in the flour until just combined.  Scoop the dough onto your workspace and shape into a disk.  Refrigerate for 1 hour to re-chill the butter.  Roll the dough out, using powdered sugar instead of flour to keep it from sticking.  Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter or use a pizza wheel to cut the dough into squares.  Pop your cookie sheets back into the fridge for 10 minutes or to re-chill before putting them into the oven.  Bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees, until the edges are light brown.