Sleepless in Knoxville

As those of you who are my facebook friends may already know, we're currently working on transitioning Lu out of our bed and into her crib for nighttime sleeping. By "working on," I mean specifically that tonight will be night 3 of putting her down in her crib instead of our bed (she's been napping in her crib for more than a month).

The first night she woke up about every hour, and I finally relented and took her into bed with me at 4am. Last night she slept longer for the first stretch (til midnight) but then woke up over and over until I gave into the sleep sirens at 3:30. Both nights, even after I brought her to bed with me, she comfort-nursed on and off until sunrise. (Keep in mind that before this transition, she slept most nights from 8-midnight, nursed, and then slept again until around 6, and was up for the day around 7:30).

My fortitude is wavering, friends. I'm going to try again tonight, and am hoping that she feels a little more comfortable and sleeps longer... but I haven't been this sleep-deprived since the first few months. My productivity at work today was, well, not great. And I might not have been as nice to Allen this morning as I'd like to be.

Do you have suggestions or encouragement? I know that baby sleep is an area of vastly differing opinions, and I'm happy to listen to them all... though you should know that I'm not yet at the point where I'm ready to leave her to cry-it-out.

Here are the things we have been doing (many suggested by friends or sleep books I've read):
- Consistent bedtime routine -bath, massage, story, nurse to sleepy, pat down.
- White noise machine turned on just before sleep, and all night long (helps muffle our old-echoey-house noises while Allen and I are still up).
- If she wakes before midnight - try to pat her back to sleep. If she is crying, pick her up until she stops crying and relaxes, and then put her back down (sleepy but awake) and pat her to sleep.
- If she wakes after midnight - same thing, but may nurse her back to sleep if necessary.
- Using a lovey when snuggling and sleeping.

I want this transition to work - she's starting to scoot around in her sleep more and more. Given that she and I've got substantial travel coming up (and hotel beds with no bed rails) I feel like it would be safer for her if she can sleep in cribs while we're on the road. So - I need your help... or maybe just your sympathy.

And since you've read this far, here's a reward... a photo of the rare and ferocious Rolypolynx Lulu-zardius: