Ok, so Lauren has NEVER been a good sleeper. At first, I attributed it to her reflux and the fact that she spit up all night long and had to be changed or sleep in wet pjs. Then I heard that breastfed babies just don't sleep as well, because they digest their meals so much faster (although I have 2 friends whose bf babies have been sleeping undisturbed for 12 hours at a time for months now.) My darling angel baby just started "sleeping through the night" (as in 5-6 hours at a time) LAST MONTH...when she was 7 MONTHS OLD!! You can imagine how little sleep I have been getting.
Lauren used to just wake up and not be able to go back to sleep without a paci. It wasn't time to be fed, I really don't think she was even hungry. But Jason and I were doing this MANY TIMES all night long. Then, at about the 7 month mark, she started sleeping long stretches; waking for a feeding around midnight and then sleeping until morning (7am or so) I have been so excited and have literally gotten more sleep during that month than all of Lauren's 7 months of life combined!!
However, I am not a very sound sleeper and I hear every little peep from her. If she is just "fussing" a little, I just try to ignore it and she usually goes back to sleep. HOWEVER, in the past week, she has started waking early (between 2am and 5am) and crying. (and I mean the kind of crying you can't ignore). 2 nights ago, Jason went in and rocked her back to sleep. Last night, (or I should say, this morning) she woke up at 5 am and was screaming. She was sitting straight up in her crib and when I came in, she started smiling and laughing at me.....ok, NO we are NOT waking up at 5am!! So I gave her the paci and tried to get her to lay back down. She screamed LOUDER and much more DESPARATELY....as I walked out of the room.
I thought maybe she would settle herself back to sleep, but 45 minutes later, she was stille fussing and keeping me awake! Jason was getting up for work anyway, so he went in and patted her or something because he told me she was back asleep. What gives? She has been doing so well and now is just pitiful. I don't want to ignore her needs, but I can't figure out what they are at this point! All of my family and in-laws and even my dear hubby (who all mean well) are convinced that it has something to do with the breastfeeding. They are assuring me that if I will simply switch to formula, she will miraculously go to sleep and not wake up until morning. I can't believe that this could be true...and am not doing any such thing until I speak to her pediatrician at her 9 month well-baby checkup on the 20th.
I'm sleepy.....I should be taking a nap instead of posting this!! :)
Oatmeal Protein Balls
2 days ago
2 comments:
Do you give her cereal before bed? That always helped Lily sleep longer. She also used to fuss when her paci got lost. I started putting 3 or 4 of them in the bed with her so that she could always reach at least one.
Just my 2 cents about the formula, it didn't solve any problems for us. Lily had poo problems when she started on it that she didn't have when we were nursing. She's cry and fuss because her tummy hurt. It might help her sleep, but it might not. I'm a big believer that the breast is best!
I feel your pain. Cady goes through bursts of sleeping well and then, well...not. Last night she woke 9:45 to eat and then again around 2 this morning. Sigh. Usually for us it means she's sick or teething, but she's also just an active baby. Tylenol works when it's her teeth, but sometimes the only way to know that is to wake up to her screaming a couple of times. Okay, so I guess I'm not much help, but I wanted you to know that you are not alone. As my pediatrician said, "some babies just don't need as much sleep." Great, huh? :-)
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