By: Steph
Sleep. Such a simple concept. Lay down, relax, and drift easily into dreams of Channing Tatum feeding me grapes…
Yeah, that doesn’t happen for me anymore.
I’ve got to say, I’ve really started to feel the twinge of jealousy for those parents who have had a baby that “slept through the night since day one” or “hardly ever wakes up, usually I get about 10 hours of sleep a night.” Unfortunately for me, my little T-Bird has been far from the peaceful sleeping baby you see on Pampers commercials. The last few months (10) have had me believing that the zombie apocalypse is real, because I swear I’m turning into one with the addition of a huge caffeine addiction.
The first few months after I brought her home, Taylor slept like I thought a normal baby would; up every 3-4 hours to nurse, burp, then back to sleep. But this last month has been something out of a torture how-to book…she’s been waking up every hour crying/wanting to nurse/crawling on me. Since school has started and Taylor’s activity level is at an all time high, I really need the sleep. I’ve felt like a detective lately, trying out different things to see what will help her sleep; bedtime routine, baby Tylenol, gas medicine, lavender oils, putting her in her own bed, back on acid reflux medicine, the list goes on…and all to no avail. The “cry-it-out” method is not an option for us (for reasons here and here), so I’m left with dark circles and dragging feet in the morning.
This may just be a hellish phase she is going through, but sometimes (like 2 o’clock in the morning) it feels like it’s never going to end. Starbucks has of course given me a deliciously caffeinated helping-hand, but coffee can only take you so far into the day before you’re exhausted again. Now that I am pretty much desperate, I’d like to pose a question to all you moms and dads out there who have had similar sleeping troubles (or know someone who has): What has helped your little one sleep through the night? Any tips from veteran parents?
Here’s me raising my giant cup of iced mocha in cheers to hopes of us sleeping through the night soon!
Stephanie
oh girl I feel your pain! Dalton didn’t sleep threw the night until I started making him sleep in his own bed (when I was asking for advice on that.. like a few weeks ago) and now I am afraid to say that he is back to his old ways and hoping that this big boy bed and re-teaching him to sleep in his bed will help. It could be a phase, that she is teething or something so just hang in there. Have you talked to her doctor about it? Keep the bedtime routine and I am the same way about not wanting to let him cry it out, but I think that there is a certain amount of time that you can let them cry, especially once they get a little older. Does she nap well? How often? I hope things get better!
I’m definitely making a dr appt for her on Monday because I swear something has to be off. It’s been almost a month now of waking up and crying and crawling. I feel like I’ve tried everything!! What do you think changed with Dalton?
Hi Steph!
Well, I’m not a mom, however, I’ve heard that taking a ‘car trip’ around the block a couple times usually knocks them out. I know this won’t be an option everytime but on a particularly fussy night it might help out.
**side note… Getting back into the house may be a little tricky with your sleeping little one. Good luck!
Thank you, Kat!! That’s a good trick to have when she won’t fall asleep, Taylor loves a good car ride
My baby had a difficult time sleeping throughout the night. I did not want to let him cry it out either, but I learned that a small amount of crying was okay. Helping to get some energy out (as my husband mentioned, they don’t have any other way since they don’t talk or move a lot yet). Honestly, until my baby was old enough to start eating more in the daytime… I just waited it out and went on sleep deprived, loving coffee! Hope you get some rest soon…
Thank you for the comment, Lvbaby! One of my parenting mentors told me, “If you’re getting to the point in their crying where you can’t handle it anymore, it’s best to just leave them alone for a little bit and collect yourself.” Which I have definetley had to do on more than one occasion! I have gotten to the point where I had to lay her in her play yard next to the bed and just calm down. So that I totally understand if a mom is at the end of her rope and the baby is fed, warm, clean, etc. some crying is okay. I can’t wait til this phase is over! Since I posted this, it’s gotten a bit better…but thank God for coffee