Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Sleep....what sleep!?!?


Last night I only got 4 hours of sleep and they were not 4 hours together.....REM SLEEP WHERE ARE YOU?!?....

SIDE NOTE: Yes, my husband does help a lot and he is a great dad, but I'm not working right now so I agreed to take more of the shifts. Also, I do love him, but I can survive on much less sleep then he can and "the walking dead" is not helpful at 2 A.M. Even with this, I couldn't imagine doing this without him. I love you, Richard.

.....back to our story....

....I have tried so many things to get Samuel to sleep (and to stay asleep) and have had some success, but nothing consistant. It seems like we have one good night and one bad night, one good night and one bad night. Just when I think I've found something Samuel likes, he changes his mind. He's a very gassy baby and has a hard time burping too.

I've tried:

* lay on belly (don't worry...only during the day)
* lay on back
* lay on side
* lay on bumpo pillow
* use white noise machine
* don't use white noise machine
* lay in vibrating chair
* lay in car seat
* lay in pac-n-play
* burp 1/2 way through feeding
* burp at end of feeding
* burp on shoulder
* burp on knee
* pat his back
* rub his back
* give him a warm bath
* change before we start feeding
* change after we finish feeding
* change 1/2 way through feeding
* let him sleep all he wants during the day
* wake him up and keep him more awake during the day
* 3 different kinds of bottles
* Milacon Drops
* Gripe Water

I'll admit...this is a very tiring (I knew to expect this.) and frustrating time. My sister, Genie, told me how much easier her life was once she got her girls on a schedule and now I believe her. A lot of you have told me to enjoy this time because I'll want it back when he's older, but with no sleep I can't see wanting this time back, right now. I do enjoy Samuel during the day, but, to be totally honest, I dread night-time.

To end on a happy note...even with all this going on....my dreams have come true and I love being a mother. God is so good.

4 comments:

Ashley said...

Declan didn't sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time at night for quite awhile. All babies are different. I don't think there is a "trick". We are on our 3rd night of him sleeping through the night (with a couple of soothing sessions needed) and he's 4.5 months old! So hang in there! My favorite quote: "this too shall pass." ;)

HappyAutisticMama said...

I agree, I don't think there is anything that you can do to help him sleep longer. Babies just don't for awhile. My A. is over 2 months and just the night before last he only slept maybe 3 hours, and not in a row.

I also agree with you, that you might not miss this time. I can barely remember it, much less miss it! I'm loving life much better now that he is over 2 months old and sleeping 5-7 hours at a time most nights. Now, I can have a very basic flexible schedule, with at least a hint of predictability. Now I can get some chores done (although nothing like pre-baby) and now I can even take the rare afternoon nap. It's so much more fun! So don't feel too bad if you don't get nostalgic about the first couple months:-)

Mama Smurf said...

With my 1st two...and most of my friends and I have talked about this and they all agreed that somewhere between 3 and 4 months a little lightbulb goes off in those little baby brains and everything becomes easier.

My 3rd cried for 6 months straight so that wasn't the case with her.

Just know that it WILL get easier.

I can't find my blog said...

Yep. These are the things that "they" don't tell new moms. Remember, EVERYTHING YOU ARE FEELING IS NORMAL! My mom told me that there will be days that you don't like being a mom very much, even when you love your children beyond measure. It's ok!