At the same time, my body aches regularly from the number of times I get in and out of bed every night. There are usually 2-3 times each night that Farrah wakes up, and instead of letting her go back to sleep on her own (because it is so quiet in our house and her cry seems so loud, it always wakes Keane up, and usually makes the cat meow, too), I lovingly shush her and give her back her pacifier (after searching all over the crib and floor for it -- why would they make clear pacifiers anyway?!).
Her pediatrician said I could try to let her fall back asleep on her own during her nightly cries. So, for my body's sake, I started the dreaded "sleep training." I planned to let her cry for 5 minutes, go check on her and reassure her that everything is okay, then let her cry for 7 minutes. I was very uncertain how I would handle the nursing we have always done at 3:00am. If she acted like she was starving (eating her hand, etc.), I decided I would still feed her, although weaning her off in several various ways was my ultimate goal.
The first night went well. She woke up twice, cried for 5 minutes, I checked on her, and then she quickly fell back asleep, and she slept through her 3:00am feeding at ate at 5:30am or 6:00am. The second night she put up a bigger fight. She cried for 5 minutes, then 7 minutes, and was very upset. I ended up rocking her back to sleep. The next few nights I just went back to getting up to quickly shush her back to sleep.
Then...she started rolling over. I still lay her down on her back, but she rolls to her tummy. And so far, she's been a better tummy sleeper. One night she fussed a few times, but quickly fell right back to sleep. One night, she nearly slept 11 hours!!! (The time-change may have affected that somewhat). I nursed her and laid her down at 7:00pm. (I turned her vaporizer on and her music up a little louder than usual.) Although I woke up a few times to check on her, she slept soundly all night.
Okay, so that was about a one-time thing. We reverted back to me cuddling her when she awoke throughout the night. I decided that was the easiest, most logical, and best mommy action to take. And I never minded it. My body and mind may have been affected by it, but not me personally. She would continue to wake up sometime around the 2:00-3:00am hour, and then again around 5:00-6:00am, at which time I would feed her. She would stay up if it was a work/daycare day, or fall back asleep until 7:00-7:30am.
Then, around 5 1/2 months, things started to change. When I would hold her and rock her during the night, it didn't usually calm her down. She would either be wide awake, smiling and reaching for her piggy banks (the pink Care Bear and the gold piggy), or restless. Other times, I would get her to fall asleep, and as soon as I laid her down and walked out of the room, she would wake up and cry again. I started to feel a little hopeless about what to try now.
One night, after checking on her (making sure her feet weren't in between the rails, she had her pacifier and lamb lovey if needed, that she wasn't hot or cold, that her music was on but not too quiet or too loud, that her fan was on low, and that she wasn't hurting or dirty), I shut her door (as we always do to keep Lenox out), and then shut our bedroom door as well. I turned the volume on the monitor on its lowest setting, just enough to wake me. And I let her cry. Each time, I laid awake until she was settled back down, which didn't usually take over 5-10 minutes. The times she cried much longer than that, I would pick her up and rock her, calm her back down and tell her everything would be okay, sing her a lullaby and give her the loving that she needed.
And two weeks later, she is sleeping "like a baby." I still keep the monitor on low, but we have been able to keep our bedroom door open again, and there are a few times she wakes up and rustles around a bit letting out a small whimper, but only to fall right back asleep. She is now waking up around 5:30-6:00am to nurse, the perfect wake-up time for our schedules.
There are still times I get to hold her and rock her, and sometimes we move to the bed or couch and she sleeps soundly on my chest. I absolutely love this. And let me tell you something, she is so pretty during the day, but my goodness does she look more than perfect in the low lighting. She sleeps with her butt up in the air and her arms tucked under her or down by the sides. Cutest sleeper ever.
This sleeping thing, it's nice; I'll admit. But at the same time, I am truly missing the nightly visits and time with her. I'm a little saddened knowing that those days are nearing an end. I hear that she may wake up again when she's teething, etc., and I'm okay with that. That might just be what I need.
Love,
A more rested Mommy
No comments:
Post a Comment