We're home! Finally. It was fun, but also exhausting. And I can't wait to put away all our Christmas decorations. That kind of sounds a little cold/inhuman, but after a month of them I'm just crazy-anxious to put them away for another 11 months. Ever the minimalist! Actually, I'd describe myself more as a semi-minimalist. I just don't want too much stuff around me. It's hard enough to keep my walk-way clear with three kidlets leaving their telltale trail of toys behind.
This is ridiculous, but I'm having the worst time bringing myself to let Savanna cry it out at night. I've unfortunately (and, I thought, unintentionally) trained her to wake up a million times a night to eat. And now that she's almost 7 months, I'm mad at myself for being lazy. And in my case, it is mostly laziness. It's so much easier for me to roll over and nurse her and just fall back asleep, rather than holding her until she's sleepy enough to be put down, or putting her down anyway and trying to sleep while she cries it out....she's my third baby! Why is this hard? I know how to do this! I have done this before! But some teeny tiny voice in the back of my mind says imploringly, "No! You can't let her cry!" Anyone have pain-free or less-painful tips for helping her sleep through the night? I'm tired of sleeping in spurts; my mind is as fuzzy as a dry lion and I'm as grumpy as a wet lion. (Yes. I realize that was ridiculous. But it makes perfect sense to me. I am tired and grumpy!) Seven months of this is enough. I have to be alert with my mischievous little wild ones.
7 comments:
I remember liking "The No Cry Sleep Solution" but I didn't really follow it. But we don't do cry it out, either... We co-sleep and I nurse all night because I'm way lazy and it's the fastest way to get them back to sleep. :) I weaned between a year and 15 months (except Ben, he quit on me) and after that they started to sleep better but I think it's because they were ready - not because I weaned. But I also have hypoglycemic kids so the doc actually said to feed them.
OH, and Kit would like to add that after I wean he takes care of them at night and that's why I sleep better. :) True, true...
So no help, but empathy for the sleep deprivation... when I admitted I'm not ever going to get a good night of sleep again I felt strangely liberated. :) Hang in there!!! This, too, shall pass... until they are teenagers and we're up late waiting for them to come home from dates.
Oh, another disjointed thought! Is she sort of nibble nursing all night? Emy did that and we tried to stuff her with solids right before bed and I had to force myself to wake up when she nursed and make sure she actually NURSED (and didn't just snack for a second) and we also tried having her sleep on a mattress on the floor by our bed so she didn't have the quick access to my boobs. If she wasn't right there next to me I could get her to go a bit longer, I wonder if bumping into me gave her the idea to nurse? Once she spaced nursing a bit more I let her back in bed and she was sleeper deeper it seemed and didn't wake up as much.
Wow, how's that for long and rambling? :) Disregard any and all advice that doesn't fit your situation, just throwing stuff at you!
I've had the most success when my girls sleep in a different room. i can't remember if Savvy's still in your room? I wonder if part of your hesitance in letting her cry it out is that although she's your THIRD baby, she's your ONLY girl?! Kind of a "oh, poor baby" reaction?
But I think whatever you do, consistency is the key. I think a good way to start is by letting them cry 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. That kind of thing.
Anyway, if that helps, great. If not, just toss it. :)
But I know you can do it! And I know she can do it too!
Ok, so I have been here more times than I would have liked, Katherine is now two and we are finally getting a good night sleep (still tired though). I don't think crying it out is a good solution (my opinion)Babies love that comfort, they love feeling you close to them, it makes them feel secure and in the long run that's very important. Just know that someday she won't need this anymore and all of this will seem like such a small moment in time, I say cherish it because they grow up way to fast.
I am sorry if this doesn't really help and I do really feel for you.
I am putting my Christmas decor away tonight. I start to hate it about 3 weeks after I put it up.
I was having trouble with Lincoln still waking up 3-4 times a night to feed at nine months. My doc gave me this info to help him learn to sleep. It worked like a charm for me!
Eliminating Nighttime Feedings: http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article.asp?articleID=2183
Eliminating Nighttime Crying: http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article.asp?articleID=2181
Good luck!!
We took our christmas tree out, on christmas NIGHT. we were so freeking out with all the toys everywhere and the tree. bah humbug. haha. You should definately let her cry it out. John is the one having a hard time with izzy and i was the one having a hard time with lily. John says, 'she's just so sweet and happy', and when we let her cry it out, it ruins her day. haha. It might be good for you to follow another technique or something, but if u r going to let her cry it out, u should do it asap, the longer you wait, the longer it takes for them to get it. Izzzy cried an hour the first night, and since then, like 15 min every night. it's nice.
good luck.
ps, don't make the same mistake that my sister made with her last baby. She's 4 and STILL sleeps in bed sometimes because she was my sisters last and her 'baby' and she couldn't let her grow up cause she wanted to hang on to that baby stuff. so don't do that or i'll come and beat you! lol
I have the same problem with Adel... it's no that she's the third, or that she's the girl, it's that her cries are screams and she's got stamina... so much easier to nurse when she wakes up than hold and listen to her shrill cry for hours. I could just be a sissy of course. I'm going to just move her from our bed to a crib, that'll be a start.
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