Here is an example of a sleepy baby. This is her first balloon.Sometimes you need to use a little trickery, at least that's what I've decided. At 4 in the morning, it's OK to put the baby in the car to get her to go back to sleep! It's OK to drive around and enjoy the open roads and freeways. It's OK to stop for coffee and finish it while the baby has been tricked into blissful sleep in the back of the car.
The first question EVERYONE asks is, "Does she sleep through the night?" I think it's more of a rarity to have a baby, especially an infant, who will sleep from the time you put them to bed, until a reasonable time the next morning. It's a BS! Yes, there may be those little angels out there somewhere, but Amelia, unfortunately, is not one of them.
People forget to tell you just how miserable it can be to have a baby who doesn't sleep! Some nights are good and some, like the last few weeks, have been bordering on ridiculous! Before her virus, she was doing a great job and would only really wake once. I would feed her before I went to bed (dream feed is what they call it), and then she would wake at 3 or4 and go back to sleep until 7 or 7:30. It was a wonderful thing. But not now. Now she is waking every few hours all night. That's why I resorted to the car. I thought, 4 am wake up is insane unless you're in the military, firefighter or work in a coffee shop!
She resists sleep every chance she gets, whether it's for naps or bedtime. Actually, she can go to sleep very easily at night, it's the STAYING asleep that's the problem (I guess she must really take after me in this department. Poor kid.) I keep vacillating between trying to night wean her gently, just letting her cry, or deciding if she'll ever just grow out of it. All I know is we are all much much happier and pleasant the next day if she sleeps.
2 comments:
Hey Allyson,
I broke down and decided to do an intermediate CIO technique on Isabelle. I really couldn't function on 4 hours of sleep a day...and I figured, "Unhappy Mommy = Unhappy Baby". I anticipated a lot of crying but luckily, it was less than I expected. We can already see the light at the end of the tunnel! Maybe this will give you some hope!
Liz
this will work out--she will sleep through the night. when jack was her age he was sleeping fine but two months later he was waking up every night at different times--sometimes twice a night! it was horrible. if it's really killing you--do the car thing--or just stick to your guns. come up with a plan and write it down--i will go to her and comfort her for x amount of time if she wakes up before x o'clock. after you reach your time limit or whatever conditions you set--stick to your guns. and, whatever works for you--is what works. period!! screw the books if it doesn't work for you. that took me a long time to figure out. like--i love to nurse jack to sleep for his afternoon nap. everyone says not to do that. but, it works for me. i stay at home. i CAN nap with him or lay with him if need be. and, i like it:-) and, yes he goes down at night just fine and sleeps through the night regardless of the fact that i "dote" on him for naps. miss you allyson. that amelia is freaking adorable.
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