When you have a baby there is one question you will get asked on almost a daily basis. In fact Sam is going to be 6 months old and the cashier at Safeway asked me this just yesterday...
"Does he/she sleep through the night??"
Ugh, I always just smile and say "not yetttt." That is until about a month ago, around Thanksgiving actually, something wonderful happened...Sam slept through the night! Welllll, let me clarify what I mean by that phrase. The American Academy of Pediatrics defines a baby "sleeping through the night" as them sleeping at least a 5 hr stretch and Sam was sleeping till around 4:30 am after having her last feeding at 9pm. Now I realize to some that might still sound like misery but after months of only getting 2 hrs of sleep at a time between feedings, 6 hrs was pure bliss! In fact, since we've been back from Christmas vacation I was starting to think that I was getting the hang of this sleep thing...every night we'd start winding down at 7 and have Sam asleep by 7:30p, then she'd sleep straight through till anywhere from 4:30a-6a. It was great, I could actually feel the bags under my eyes shrinking!
Till two nights ago...
2:30 am "wahhhhhh"
3am "wahhhh"
3:40am "wahhhhhh"
4:10am "wahhhh"
You get the picture.
Sam has been waking up ALL NIGHT LONG! Whyyy?????!!!! Why is this happening?!? It's so much worse to be reminded of what actual sleep feels like and then have it ripped away from your cold sleepless hands! Ok, a bit dramatic, but I'm tired- unstable emotions are par for the course.
So I pulled out my copy of "The Baby Whisperer" and reread the sleep chapters. I think the problem is that I decided to spend my days this week out with Sam running errands and lately she won't nap unless she's in her crib with the blinds drawn and sound machine roaring. In the car or stores she will prop those sleepy little eyelids open to see what's going on!
So no naps and what do you have? An overtired baby which is a recipe for disaster! You see the funny thing I've learned about babies is that when they're sleep deprived instead of just crashing at night like you or I would they will actually sleep crappier and wake up more, hence the last two nights of misery. So today Sam and I stayed home and I made sure she got one good 2 hour nap and two 1 hour naps. I pray that this will work and I'll have some decent sleep tonight. I have so much I need to get done tomorrow and it just aint gonna happen without some rest.
Tomorrow either expect a post of pulling out hair with sleep deprived frustration or one of sweet victory!
I know that many parents, doctors and experts alike do not agree on feeding ideas. However, trust this advice coming from a mother of 5, each and everyone slept through the night well before 6 months. I introduced Rice cereal (be it really watered down). I may have only gotten a teaspoon in them, but that was right before their last bottle at night. The time doesn't matter...suit your schedule. I would never recommend adding it to a bottle, but try this with a spoon and make sure it is really watery at first. We all sleep better with full tummies. I didn't start it at a certain date frame with each one, I worked with their internal schedules, but all were sleeping thru the night by around 3-4 months!
ReplyDeleteYeah, she eats rice cereal twice a day already. I started her at 4 mths with the hope that she'd sleep better and I thought it was a good time to start solids but now she's eating in the morning with fruit and the afternoon with veggies. Crazy kid! Thanks though (:
ReplyDeleteNatasha,
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of the show, and I am also a first time mom my baby boy is 11 months and we have been truly blessed. Just reading your blogs remind me that I went through the same things and me picking up the baby books until one day I said, "my child is not a book, and each child has his or her own personality" so you as a parent has to do what is best for you Samester.
I have a set routine Kristian and its the best thing ever I understand with everyones hectic schedule it is hard but take it for what its worth... I have a fulltime job and my husband works for the service so he is never around plus we have a dog, so it feels that everything is on my plate.
He is bed by 6:30 and is up by 5 because I have to get him ready to go to daycare I then drop him off and he sleeps until 8 his latest nap is at 3 pm (the latest) I tried the rice cereal and it didnt work for him it actually made him more gassy. The secret is this give her, her last bottle right before you guys go to bed cuddle her and rock her without really waking her up.
Wow,you do have a lot on your plate. Kudos to you for doing so much on your own, I can't imagine how hard it would be to have my husband in the service, you're a tough lady! Thanks for the advice too (:
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