I hesitated about this post, since it houses my dirty little secret. As I peruse other blogs, I read all about how everybody else's babies sleep through the night and nap super well and have been doing since they were, like, two days old. And I always want to cry because I feel like a bad mommy. You see, my baby does none of those things. Not even close. Jack is a terrible sleeper. He started out well in the sleeping department. I even remember him sleeping through the night when he was a month old. Then, at about 3 months, there was a week where he did it almost every night. But the next week he stopped. In fact, he started waking up at least twice a night. And it has been getting progressively worse ever since. Last night, for example, he went to bed at 7:30 and woke up at 8:45, 11:00, 1:30, 3:45 (and didn't got back to sleep until 5), then woke up again at 5:30 and wouldn't go back to sleep. And this is actually one of his better nights. We've had nights in recent weeks where he wakes up every hour. He just doesn't sleep soundly.
Nap time really isn't all that much better. He seems to have this internal alarm clock that wakes him up after 30 minutes. But he wakes up still grumpy. So I have the choice - dealing with a grumpy baby or holding him while he sleeps. Neither is very appealing.
Now I tried to do Babywise the first four months of his life and felt like an utter failure because I was the only mommy who couldn't get it to work. I've tried to let him cry it out, but he cries so hard that he chokes himself or makes himself throw up or just keeps on crying. I don't have the heart for it.
So there you have it. I've come clean. My baby doesn't sleep. Don't judge me. I'm doing the best I can in my exhausted condition. And please don't comment and tell me about what a great sleeper your baby is. All I want is sympathy and maybe, if you have a terrible sleeper, tell me about it so I don't feel so alone. Because it seems as if I'm the only one...so tired...
Ask Mom about my sleeping habits! It sounds like Jack and "Baby Me" have a lot in common! Seasame Street, dislike of sleep, etc.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Eli is a great sl...oh wait! Nevermind ;p
You are not the only one! Jake finally at 7 months started sleeping through the night (after ANOTHER attempt at letting him cry it out). But Hannah was even worse. Some nights she was up about every 20 min. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy Mama.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you are absolutely NOT a bad mom!!! Good luck, and hopefully you'll start getting more sleep soon.
Luke never took a nap until recently. But on another note, he has only gained a few ounces since his 2 month check up. He was growing fine and then leveled off. His height was doing ok until we went in for a special 5 month check up to check his weight again. Now his height has pretty much leveled off. So the doctor wanted to run Luke through some tests. He had to go in fasting to get his blood taken, his urine tested and then had an x-ray. They found out that he had a UTI and put him on anti-biotics. But they still think that something else may be wrong with him. This week he had an anal ultrasound. Luckily it was not invasive. But he has to go back and have dye injected through a catheter to see if his man pipes are working right. He was such a sad little guy during all the tests. I feel so bad. Especially when the doctor and nurse keep asking me how much I'm feeding Luke and when. For heavens sake, they made me start him on solid foods at 4 months when I was really going to hold off until 6 months. (Because he needed the extra calories) So you're not a bad mom.
ReplyDeleteYou are not a bad mom! Unlucky maybe, but not bad! I am so sorry you are sleepless. You poor thing! My niece is 9 months old and still is up all throughout the night, so there's some shared misery for you.
ReplyDeleteSince I am not married and don't have any kids, I can't really empathize with you. I used to babysit for a lady who the only way her child would go to sleep was to listen to soothing music in his room when they put him to bed. You may have tried that already, but if not, that is the only idea I have to offer.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry!!
ReplyDelete