I'm writing to ask all my favorite mamas out there to give me your thoughts on sleep disturbances and sleep issues in babies. Bodhi has always been a less-than-ideal sleeper in the sense that he wakes a lot at night. Now, I know that this is absolutely normal in babies and evolutionarily speaking, it was necessary for survival. I'm ok with that. What I am struggling with is that for the past couple of months, not only is Bodhi waking 2-4 times in a 5 hour period, oftentimes he has a terrible time falling back asleep. When this happens (as it did last night), he wakes up and then fights sleeping to the point of being awake and crying/fussing for hours on end. I can nurse, I can let him watch a video, I can take him on a walk, I can rock him in a chair, I can swing him side to side in a dark room, I can carry him around the house in a carrier etc. And nothing works.
This is what a normal good night is like:
9:00pm Bodhi goes to sleep easily after a bath with Mia
1:30am He wakes up, we nurse and I sway/rock him back to sleep
3:30am He wakes up, we nurse and I sway/rock him back to sleep
5:30am Same as above
This is what the bad nights are like:
9:00pm Bodhi goes to sleep easily
12:00am or 1:00am He wakes up, we nurse and then he fights sleep like crazy and will not go to sleep (in his bed, in my bed, laying on me on the couch, swinging in his swing, etc) and I end up trying to soothe Mr. Fussy Pants using all the techniques above to no avail until somehow he passes out at 4:30am as he is sweating in the carrier while we are laying on the couch with Baby Einstein playing on the TV in repeat mode ina futile effort to get him to sleep.
I know that many people are ok with "crying it out" and I sincerely believe that every parent has to make the decision that is right for them and their child. I personally don't think it's the solution for Bodhi (having tried it a few times with disastrous results) so I am kindly asking for gentler suggestions if you have any. Some friends have suggested a chiropracter and I am curious about this - have any of you used one for your babies?
Thanks for reading and much thanks for any and all suggestions you might have!
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Have you tried cutting out a nap time might be grumpy during the day but better than at night until he adjusts stick through it you will make it i promise!!!!
ReplyDeleteI had the same situation with my son when I was still nursing him only he wanted to actually sleep on top of me, and used me as a pacifier. I was so tired that I gave in. I don't believe in crying it out after all the research I've done on it, and my son is so stubborn he could cry for 5 hours and not sleep. HAHA I found that as soon as he was done nursing, which was hard to give up, he finally slept in his crib and much better. It was like he was never full when nursing or something. All I can say is I know how you feel, but hang in there. He may just need you close. Dylan still comes into bed sometimes and says "I just want you Mama" It's hard to be tired, but it won't be long until they don't want us at all! Good luck...also I bought a good book that is called The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. It may help a little...
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