Friday 4 September 2009

more on sleeping (of course)

thank you everybody, i think what i've gained over the last 24 hours is a little perspective and the collective agreement that i need to chill out a bit about this : ) it's just so hard when i can see a tired, cranky baby in front of me and know that she needs a nap but won't have one for another hour or needs to stay up another three hours before bedtime. and to the well meaning commenter who suggested that mae is traumatised by being left to cry for so long that of course she does not want to go to bed - i'm not upset by your comment because, of course, you don't have all the facts and are just responding to the limited amount of information that i parcel out here and there in random posts when i feel the need to vent. yes, i have done controlled crying with mae, as recommended by more baby books than i can possibly list here. this was in july, before our trip, when mae was finally well after weeks of various colds which had left her with no night routine whatsoever, wanting extra bottles and to get up for hours at a time in the middle of the night. when she was sick, i was happy to oblige with all of this, gave the extra bottles when she woke up extra times and stayed up with her when she decided she was too stuffy to stay lying down. but when she got better, these things became a habit and i just couldn't function with the lack of sleep. we hadn't done a proper controlled crying regime with her before but i was ready to try it then, i thought she was finally old enough for it to have some results. the first night was brutal. she cried for two hours straight, with me going in routinely to comfort her. it was heartbreaking and hard but i was also at breaking point after a year of frustrating sleep issues. if this was going to be our salvation for continued good nights sleep for the entire household, i was willing to see it through. the next few nights she went to bed with no crying but would still wake up once a night and cry for an hour, wanting a bottle which i couldn't give her as part of the whole controlled crying package. on the fifth night she slept through and she had two good solid naps that day for the first time in weeks. i felt like everything had been worth it. over the next few nights she started waking again, first for fifteen minutes, then for thirty, then for an hour. by the tenth night i thought, "screw this" and gave her a bottle so both of us could get some rest. i felt supremely disappointed that we had gone through the whole thing for nothing. then we went to canada and once she got over the jetlag (and when she wasn't teething in winnipeg), she was in a great routine of one bottle a night and she kept up the two naps - the three hour crying jag i mentioned in my last post was the first few days we were in canada, when we were trying desperately to get mae onto canadian time instead of staying up half the night with her. it didn't work and it wasn't fun. we resorted to just waking her up at 7am every morning, no matter what time she had finally gone to bed and that worked like a charm. since we got home, however, things have been chaotic: sometimes going to bed at normal time, sometimes 8pm, sometimes 9pm and yesterday i put her to bed at FIVE PM because she was nutso from too short a nap and desperate for sleep. and no, these random bedtimes are not because she is traumatised by her bed. this is a kid who will play in her cot for a good long time when she wakes up and who goes to bed very happily when she is tired. we have a bedtime routine at 6:30pm of bath, bottle, bed and have since she was 6 weeks old with no variations, even on time. the days when she is up until 9pm, we still do the same routine at 6:30pm, put her in bed and then get her up again when it becomes obvious that she's not ready for sleep yet. someone mentioned in the comments "I dont bother trying to get him to sleep until i see the signs, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to "make" or "wish" he would go to sleep." and i can so relate to that. that is where we are at right now. she doesn't hate her bed, or even going to bed, or even sleeping, but she will not go to bed when she is not tired. no siree.

anyway, yes, i will relax - see me relaxing? the one thing i am going to try is to get her up at 7am every day again. some days she sleeps in until 8am and that is LOVELY but it's not helping either of us have any idea of when the elusive daytime nap will occur. in theory, if i get her up at the same time every day, and feed her at the same times every day and put her to bed at the same time every day, she will then nap at the same time, every day. in theory.

thank you all for hearing me out, even if you don't agree with the methods i have taken to try to help my child and, let's be honest, myself, get some regular sleep. i appreciate this space to vent and share and hear your experiences and your opinions. i do. i really do : )

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:19 pm

    I am happy you didn't get upset by my comments as that wasn't my intention. As you said it so perfectly I am just responding to your limited post...and I was happy read that you go in and check every 10 or min. I wish I could offer more advise but it sounds like your just doing what all us mothers do and that is whats best for child as you are the one who knows her better then all of us I wish you all the best and do hope you get some sleep tonight x thanks for your honesty...

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  2. I have the attitude whenever I read someone's posts is that it's your blog and you can write whatever the hell you like! You should be able to vent, and it should help other people to realise that if they don't have these issues, they are pretty damn lucky.

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  3. Feel like crying for you, I am so sorry you have had this for the past year, it's not fair. Sleep deprivation does crazy things to you and the desperation to get your baby to sleep takes over every aspect of your life.
    Things will change, nothing ever stays static, but I know that is cold comfort.
    You need to explore whatever avenue you think you should regardless of what anyone says.
    I am hoping for sleep for you and Mae.
    Sophie

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  4. sorry to read you're going through this drama - we've always been lucky sleepwise with Grace, although I think she made up for it in the tantrum department. But my niece, well she's never been much of a sleeper at all and I've watched my sister and her partner try everything and it is just so hard. Especially when the mother/parents end up so tired too. It's gotten a little better for them now Ruby is two, but there has had to be a lot of trial and error and deciding to let go. Luckily the new bub is a sleeper.

    Please be gentle on yourself, I know that you would be doing everything you could for mae and your family.

    wishing you and mae sweet dreams and bountiful sleep...
    xj

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  5. Anonymous1:07 am

    I just happened to read your post. A book that was suggested to me by another mother in my group is Sheyne Rowley's 'Dream Baby Guide'. You've probably been told about a lot of books. But after checking out her site and reading a lot of the testimonials, I was interested in reading hers, and maybe it might appeal to you too. We've only just gotten the book, so I don't know from experience if her method will work. But as we all know, all babies are different anyway. Good luck with it all x

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  6. Anonymous7:13 am

    Do whatever you need to, to get you through. Everyone said to us dont bring him into your bed - easy whem you dont both have work to go to the next day.

    He came into our bed every night for nearly a year - next month he will be four - and yes he sleeps in his own bed now!

    Just remember this is just a phase she is going through.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your thoughts, thanks so much for taking the time to comment! If you have a question to ask, I will answer it here (and by email as well, if I can track down your email address). I would love to reply to every single comment but until Blogger makes it easier to reply by email, please know that I am so happy you stopped by : )

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