so up to a couple of months ago life was good and I didn't know. Evening was like this:
Daddy would get home from work and play with little guy until 6:30
6:30 massage and bath
7pm feed and bedtime.
3am night feed
7am wake wake
I remember complaining about it a couple of times and wondering how life would be whenever he started to sleep through the night. These days I think the gods were disappointed with me not understanding I had gold and decided to give me a hard time.
evening routine these days?
Daddy comes home from work to moody baby and mumy - often with a headache as well as a bad back - and plays with little guy until he starts screaming because only mum will do.
6:30 whatever much of a massage we can manage before he starts to kick off + bath or just a wash down on days when my back is just too achy for me to hold him in the tub
7pm seat down with now screaming baby for a feed then down to bed - not always that straight forward
10 and/or 11 and/or 12 and/or 1am and/or 2am and or 3am and/or 4am and/or 5am night feed
6am wake wake to a grumpy mummy who wish she her lovely good sleeper would return from wherever he is at the moment.
take last night as an example, he woke up at 11pm - just as I got into bed after being silly enough to watch telly for a bit longer than i should have. Daddy always tries to comfort him and calm him down, if nothing helps then mum gets up to feed him to sleep. 11:30 I was off to bed until 2am when he kicked off again. This time as it wasn't even 3 hours since he fed, I rocked him to sleep. 3:30am night feed. 4:30am - only 1 hour after feed - he was wide awake smiling and giggling as if it was morning, mummy already panicking rocks him to sleep. Baby was just too full of beans and it took me forever to get him down AND of course he woke up as soon as I tried putting him to bed. By 5am I gave up and fed him to sleep once again. by 5:30 I was back in bed only to be woken up at 5:50. This time he was doing his happy screaming so I left him to it but it wont lasts for a little while until it turns until an angry scream. By now baby is fed and changed and just there isn't anything else I can do. I very well tried to switch off the monitor and let him cry but my hormones since to overwrite my brain and that sort of thing just doesn't work for me. For a little bit I let him cry then daddy - who luckily booked the day off for today - went to his aid. No much can be done so he brings baby over to our bed. For about 20 minutes I was able to lay there while baby played until he kicked off and once again I rocked him to sleep.
Now here we are, me with a massive cup of coffee - the only one of the day as god forbid baby has any more caffeine than that - and little guy is playing happily like a baby who had a lovely night's sleep. How?????
Just for the record, I've tried giving him a bottle to see if that helps him settling for longer, he just won't take it at all.
If you've been there please I beg of you, leave me some advice, any ideas, anything! If you are there, do share your story. We might find solace on each other's misery. But be ware, this is a rant post and THAT'S MOTHERHOOD FOR YOU or GET USED TO IT YOU WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN just won't cut it so if that is your comment then
Wew! That sounds familiar. I did get that before only when hubs is away and when Livi gets over tired and miss her morning/afternoon sleep-especially when we take her out. I don't know what to say but I am with you:). What we have been really trying to do is follow the baby's routine. No matter what, no matter where...when it's time for bed then, that's it. Warm bath to soothe her up, feed then bed. Play baby Mozart or lullaby in the background is a huge help, too. xx
ReplyDeleteoh yes, I'm sure every mum's been there. Our bedtime routine is sacred to me as I know it works. the problem was really keeping him down. Thankfully the last 3 nights were better. I started giving him gripe water just in case is gas, homeopathic chamomile powder in case it's teething, moisturize his skin in case it was an itch. lol..no idea what worked the most important thing is that it has.
ReplyDeleteGood to see from your comment things have been better. I always personally found that as soon as something worked and I thought I had cracked it they would do something different and I'd be back to scratching my head again. My great news is that it is all phases and they do pass. Mich x
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, I stuck all my hopes with the fact that THEY GROW OUT OF IT lol...it really is tricky, I've managed to get some sleep for a few nights and now he is a bit poorly so no rest for the wicked.
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