We're still having some sleeping issues at night. Abigail has always been a good sleeper. At about week 2, she started to even out and would only wake once, maybe twice, a night. This trend continued until about the middle of May. Then she became fussy for naps and fussy for bedtime. She was also more restless at bedtime. I do believe this has a direct connection with the time she learned to roll-over and other developmental milestones. However, the middle of May was also when she first slept clear through the night. She did it for 5 days in one week. Little did I know that she was tricking me! Then came the RASH . . .
Now that we have that cleared up, I was expecting her to go back to her old ways of sleeping but I did get up three times last night to nurse her. This definitely shakes my confidence as a mother. I keep asking myself all the time: WHY?! Well, I have been doing a lot of research today and I think I may have discovered at least part of the reason why.
First of all, she could possibly be teething. I don't see any teeth or swelling, however, and she doesn't seem to be gumming or drooling more than normal. My second thought has to do with her daytime nursing. She is very restless during the day when she nurses from me. I do believe this primarily comes from her new ability to SEE and INTERACT with things around her. She is really distracted . . . . . . except at night, when she nurses for 20 to 30 minutes at a stretch. Hmm, this got me thinking that perhaps she isn't getting enough calories during the day and is making up for it at night. Her nursing times during the day, seriously only last 5 to 10 minutes (10 minutes is a good day). I have some ideas in mind that I might try to see if things go better.
My last thought on this . . . and then I promise I will try to post about something A LITTLE more interesting in the future, is that she now knows that mom will come to her and give her comfort in the middle of the night when she wakes up. I was doing that during her rashy time and maybe it's just a habit now. Who knows! I think it's a little early in her life to totally let her cry-it-out at night. There is still the good possibility that she is actually hungry.
When she was a newborn, I kept a sleep journal. I wrote down when she woke up, when she ate, and when she fell back asleep at night. It was helpful to see that nighttime sleep was improving after a few weeks. I think I need to do that again to see if I can find a pattern to the madness!
I am looking forward to trying solid foods (29 days) with her. It will give me a little more freedom . . . I think it will be fun . . . and hopefully she can stay full longer at night!
3 comments:
I would have to agree that she's just gotten used to Mommy coming in at night and comforting her. I'm just getting ready to post about Jacob's sleep issues, so you can read that if you want. He had just simply gotten into the habit of us coming to him in the night...he wasn't hungry or anything else, even though most nights he would eat 6 oz. or more of a bottle. Anyway, I hope you're able to figure out what's going on. It really is frustrating not to know WHY!! Hang in there! :)
I agree with Jennifer. I think she could try crying it out for 3 nights and then should be "cured" but maybe wait until after Hawaii? Also, have you seen those nursing blankets that have the rim in it? You can see them, but they cannot pull it off b/c it is over your neck. I forgot the name but I could find out if you don't know about them. Just more ideas. You know I am full of it. I meant them?! :0)
Yes, I have a hooter hider (the baby nursing blanket) and that does help a little bit. It just gets really hot since it's the summer time and mine is getting pretty worn out from being washed all the time. Lastnight wasn't too bad. Andrew got up and gave her a bottle I had pumped at 5 am (I had been up at 11pm) and she drank 6 1/2 ounces, so that makes me think she's hungry!
Oh, and if you read this Ari, I have some information on raw milk to send you. I'll forward you the email now.
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