Asleep for now, but for how long?
Sleep is currently a precious commodity. And we don't seem to be any closer to finding a solution to ensuring that all of us get more of it.
The past week has been pretty difficult, so much so that I have had to wake DD up at night and (literally) chuck him the baby cos I just can't take any more of a writhing, whiny, tired baby who obviously wants to sleep but just can't. Unfortunately since I'm the one who regularly takes care of him at night, upon realising that it's Daddy carrying him, Noey would start crying for real until he is returned into my arms.
(By the way, if you're wondering why I was doing all the night duty, I have to say that DD is a wonderful hands-on kind of Dad but that man can sleep through a war, I swear. Even with Noey's cot beside us, my dear hubs can continue sleeping through Noey's cries. And weird fact about me #21543 -- I actually don't need much sleep. In fact, I'm one of those freaks who thinks that sleeping is a waste of time, much to my dear husband's dismay and disbelief. And since Noey's previous practice of waking up once in the night was really manageable, I found it much easier to just get up and sort Noey out at night. DD does help with the early morning shifts on some days, and also Sat and Sun morning.)
ANYWAY. It didn't help that he's also been on occasional hunger strikes over the past couple of weeks, especially on days when I'm not around and someone else would have to give him his feed in a bottle. It's not really a preference for the breast though since some days he would reject me too and when this boy doesn't want to drink, you just can't force him to. So of course, because he did not eat during the day, I was loathe to not feed him at night, since he could, you know, be actually hungry. I did eventually try to refuse him his night feeds in a bid to right his eating schedule but it ended up with us all not getting a good night's sleep and only minimal improvement to his milk intake. Sigh.
No idea what the problem is but I'm guessing it could be:
- Teething -- possible since he's been drooling a lot (though he has been drooling for quite a while) and chomping down on everything. He's also got his fingers in his mouth pretty much all the time. This however could just be a bad habit. He's also pulling his ears quite a bit, especially in his sleep, which is a sign of teething, but we haven't managed to feel anything on his gums.
- Hunger -- combined with all his non-eating, I really am not sure about this one. I know it's a sign that your child may be ready for solids if he suddenly starts waking in the middle of the night hungry, though not eating in the day could be the real culprit. Besides, I did try giving him some rice cereal last weekend but he didn't seem too interested and/or didn't know how to eat it. More of that in a separate post.
- Growth/Developmental Spurt of some sort -- especially since this coincided with him developing new sitting skills and starting to crawl. If that's the case, we probably should can ride it out.
- Bad Habit -- now this, this I'm afraid of, because it would mean needing to sleep train, and I really don't want to unless I'm sure it's not any of the other possibilities. Mostly because he's been an okay sleeper all the while and I don't actually think he could suddenly develop a bad habit for waking up, though I think he does lack self-soothing abilities and needs to be picked up to calm down. Am also concurrently feeling guilty for routinely nursing him to sleep (only when he's put down for the night) and wondering if I should stop. But it works a treat!
Hmmmm.
There, needed to let that out somewhere. Anyway, with the 6 month mark coming up, I plan to work on getting him good with solids before trying to tackle anything else it might be. Wish me luck! And ok, I'll never take sleep for granted again!
Hahaha, Merv can also sleep through anything!! Strangely I used to be like that too. But now, I can jump up when Elliot squeaks! Motherhood!!
ReplyDeleteZzzzzzzzzzzzz. I feel tired just reading your entry! I hope whatever schedule you're trying on Noah will work soon, for your sake!
ReplyDeleteAnd aiyah, I've always been on night duty for the same reason as you: The moment the kiddos know it's not mama, all hell breaks loose! LOL!
Oh! I also wanted to add: When K was teething, she would wake up during the middle of the night and during her afternoon naps with a start. Most of the time, she'd shriek (like bad nightmare) but there were times when she'd be very clingy/whiny. Something similar to what you've described Noah as experiencing. It's only gotten much much better now that both her bottom two teeth are out. I'm enjoying the respite until the next round of teething... HELP US ALL!
ReplyDeleteHave you bought the teething gel? If Noah wakes up in the middle of the night, try rubbing some of the gel on his gums. K always feel much better when I put some gel on her swollen gums during teething time.
ReplyDeleteSeconding muffingirl's comment - dentinox! Apply before sleep, hopefully that will numb the teething discomfort.
ReplyDeleteRightly so, think most dads will sleep through the cries. I suppose men and women are just wired differently.
I used to nurse Nat to sleep too, don't feel guilty over it. Its just so easy and really, whatever works. Even now, Nat takes a bottle before zzz-ing.
Hope this phase will pass soon!
Nursing the baby to sleep really works like a dream for me too! But I find that she doesn't sleep as long, and the moment she has a partial arousal, she wants to be nursed to sleep again.
ReplyDeleteI now nurse her before bedtime, but when she shows signs of falling asleep, I unlatch and burp her to 'wake' her up, then tuck her in, sing a song/tell a story, then leave the room. I make sure she sees me leave the room so that she knows she has to self-soothe to sleep.
First few nights were nightmarish - she kept crying. But I left her to whine for a bit, and she's really less dependent on nursing now. Talk more when we next meet yah?
it just a phase.. we been through a short period of time when edgar was a aroudn this few months..
ReplyDeleteI have to spend a couple of hours patting him to sleep..ok..singing sone songs repeatly...
Amanda :: Actually yah, I thought I was a heavy sleeper too, but I'm awake as soon as he stirs. It's amazing how God wired all mothers this way!
ReplyDeletePeifen :: Thanks. I'm don't know if he's really teething, though if he's not and it gets worse when he actually is... GULP. Don't want to think about it.
MG :: Nope, haven't got it yet. Shall go get some for standby -- thanks for the tip!
lilsnooze :: Thanks for the encouragement. I actually enjoy nursing him to sleep -- I love it when he falls asleep in my arms. I just don't want him to wake up and thereby need me to nurse him back to sleep! Sigh!
yuling :: so does raeann now go to sleep on her own? i only nurse noah to sleep at night. other times of the day he can fall asleep either with his pacifier or while being carried. yup, hope to talk to you a bit more on this one!
silver-crv :: i really hope it's a phase!
ReplyDelete