Oh someone help me please . . . I feel like the walking dead again! Emmeline, who has been sleeping through the night like a real champion has decided to throw me a curve ball regarding her sleep leaving me in a zombie like state and Xavi telling me on a regular basis that I should 'just go and sleep' due to the unpleasant character changes that come with my zombie like state.
I dont know what is happening with my child. She woke up one night screaming blue murder at 4 am, one night at 3am, last night at 1am. In the morning she wakes up like clockwork between 7:10am - 7:20am. I would love extra time in bed, but i have come to grudgingly accept that this is how it is going to be for years . . . . However now little miss muppet has been waking up around 6:00am - 6:20am.
Did I mention that I am sooooooooo tired?????????
Being woken up suddenly at 4am by a screaming baby stresses me out in a big way, and I think it has aged be by about 10 years! I find it awful! It is wake up suddenly, hear screaming baby, wait thinking she will stop any second now, she doesn't, start to stress about waking up this whole side of the building as her window is open and all the sounds echos in the little interior patio outside her window, haul my dead weight body out of bed and tip toe to her room (although I don't know why, she is still screaming and probably wouldn't hear anything anyway!), get to her door and think "what the feck to do now?"
Do I:
a) sooth her from the doorway with some 'shhh' 'shhh's'?
b) go in and sooth her from next to her crib?
c) go in and pick her up to comfort her?
d) Dont go in at all and leave her to cry it out
I have tried all of them. None have really had much resounding success. If I sooth her from the doorway, she quietens down for a second and then starts up again. If I go in, she gets even more narky the minute I walk out. If I pick her up, she gets even more narky the minute that I put her back down. Leaving her to cry it out normally has the most success although some time she just gets even more worked up and screams so loudly I think that only animals can hear her.
Some nights I have tried it all and ended up sitting outside her room with my hands in my head going "I dont know what to do".
Why is she crying? Well it could be because:
a) She is scared of the dark
b) The nightlight is irritating her
c) She is hot
d) She is cold
e) She is teething
f) She doesn't feel good
g) She doesn't want to be alone
h) Some noise from outside woke her up and she is angry about it
i) All of the above
j) None of the above
Bottom line - I don't know.
Of course she is sleeping now. Oh yes! Morning nap and afternoon nap without fail, sometimes with more screaming at me and sometimes with less, but she always goes down.
So why, for the love of god, is she messing around in the evening again???
I can only hope that it is a phase , or it is in fact the mysterious teeth (she got 2 teeth months ago, and nothing since then. I think her mouth gave up at 2 teeth), and that she goes back to giving mommy some much needed sleep.
A well rested mommy is good for everyone in the house!!
You might not want to read this, but it is perfectly normal that little ones wake up during the night until they are at least 4. And it is much harder and more scary for them than for us. I don't believe you can actually "do" something about it so you might as well hold her in your arms or stay with her. She wouldn't scream if she wouldn't need you. Try not to feel as if she is torturing you, she is not, she's is just growing and going through so many changes. Just go with her flow. Catch up some sleep during the day while she is napping. Which doesn't mean you can't complain, be cranky, or ask Xavi to take care of her while you take a nap ;-) Hang in there!!!! You're not alone, there are millions of mothers awake in the night living through the same phase. Including me. At least 4 nights/week.
ReplyDeleteHang in there Moma!!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, First time poster, long time fan :) I love reading your blog (probably b/c of your writing style). There is a topic though that I haven’t seen covered yet (sorry if I was out of town while you posted it). But I was wondering if you could post about saving cord blood??? I’m still trying to decide if its a good idea. I’m using this site for most of my info: http://www.publiccordbloodbanks.org/ , I’d like to hear some real life advice though.
At the very least I intend on donating. Just thought I’d float the idea by you for a post.
Thanks!