Last night was my breaking point I think. Clara is now seven months old and is not even close to sleeping through the night. At about two months old and a little over 10 lbs. she was sleeping about seven hours before waking up at night. Now she is about 20 lbs. and she is waking up every two hours and sometimes every hour! I feel like I just lay back down in bed and then she is crying again. It is getting so incredibly frustrating. So to get a little more sleep I would bring her into our bed and she would sleep for two to three hours at a time (sometimes). But last night I was done. I decided to just let her cry. And she DID! I would go in and talk to her or brush her cheek and at first she would calm down for a second, then I would go back to my room and start reading my Baby Wise book. And she would start the screaming again. And now when i went in she would not stop screaming. I even picked her up for a few seconds and she was still screaming. So I gave up and tried to nurse her but she was so upset she would not even nurse. And I was NOT giving in on her coming to sleep in our bed. So it started all over again. After an hour of this I could not take it anymore. I thought maybe she is in pain??? So I gave her a little bit of Tylenol. And RIGHT when I gave it to her she calmed down and fell asleep. What??!!! It was not working in two seconds she just liked the taste of it. Then she slept for two hours. Then woke up, then slept for one hour, then one hour. Every hour! She does not NEED to snack that often!I tried to let her just cry it out in the middle of the night again, but I could not take more crying. I just started crying!
I feel like I am just at a dead end! All the books or tips I read are for newborns and give examples of how you mess things up if you don't start out right. And I messed up! I feel like I will never be able to set it right! I know I gave in to her for a while and that was a mistake but the mistake is made! Now what do I do? Do I not have any hope at all for a good nights rest for one and a half more years!? (that is what it said in baby wise). I hate those books! I have tried to get her on a routine of Eat, Activity, Sleep..then you get You time. The E.A.S.Y method. But it is ANYTHING but easy. She would never fall asleep without eating first. And still she doesn't. She has to taste stupid Tylenol first at least and I REFUSE to drug my child every night to get some sleep. And I don't want to scar her by letting her cry for hours (because she will, I tried this once before and she cries and cries and by the time she is done crying she is so tired when I feed her there is no way I can keep her awake!)
I got to the point that I asked Chris for a blessing last night I just could not relax. So he gave me a blessing and in the blessing it said I would get a good nights sleep. SO I fully expected Clara to FINALLY sleep well. NOT the case obviously. So I was also up crying and questioning my faith in Christ and in the priesthood. I did not understand how the blessing was not being fulfilled. I had complete faith! I was becoming so angry! Chris was so sweet and tried to comfort me. I was fighting with myself and the temptation to give up! Chris and I have been waiting to see another blessing fulfilled as well and it was all hitting me so hard last night. WHY? What else can I do?! I feel like I am trying my best and putting complete faith in the Lord, and nothing has happened yet. Well, I finally fell asleep and this morning after just a little sleep last night Chris stayed home from work for the morning and took care of Clara. And guess what, I DID get sleep. The Lord did fulfill his promise through my sweet husband. I have been shown over and over that the Lord DOES keep his promises. It just never happens like I thought it would. I am ashamed to say that I can sometimes be a modern day Laman or Lemuel. I have had so many miracles in my life come by the priesthood alone. How could I ever doubt what I have seen? last night was a good learning experience for me...truly humbling. I know the Lord loves me and is watching out for me and my family. How grateful I am to have the gospel in my life. Today I have renewed faith in the Lord. I am so grateful for Him in my life. I am also truly grateful for such a wonderful husband who cares so much for me.
But Clara is still not sleeping ...ALL YOU MOTHERS OUT THERE I NEED SOME ADVICE!!!
Have any of you experienced anything like this? What did you do?
I just can't keep doing this night after night after night. I would appreciate any advice and I hope my situation is not hopeless!
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7 comments:
Oh Brittni! I'm sorry you are going through this. It isn't fun when you don't get sleep, but I promise, if you just let her cry it out it will stop. It may take a couple of days, but it will happen! And she won't be scarred for life! Do you remember when you were a baby? I definitely don't, I can barely remember yesterday! :) It sucks to hear your baby cry and to not be able to comfort her, but you have to be strong and don't give in! Hope this helps!!
dude my message was so long it wouldn't accept it. So i am emailing it.
Oh, I'm so sorry!!! Sophia has slept really well young, but has had her weeks where she does the same thing. I read baby wise too, and we've followed that..but seriously do you own thing. keep her awake as long as you can during the days so she's exhausted and sleeps longer. Does she sleep at all during the days? We'll be saying prayers for ya...it's not fun and SO stressful to go through this.
I wish I had advice for you, but I have a feeling that in about a year I will be experiencing this same thing and probably writing a blog about it. Luckily you do not have to go to work the next day, because I will have to. I hope it gets better for you and that you get some sleep to rejuevenate you emotionally. Sometimes I feel that being emotionally exhausted is worse than being physically exhausted.
Good luck! I will keep you in my prayers.
Oh sweet Brittni! I work until 5 or 6pm each night but when I get home, I am so willing to come over and watch Claire so you can get YOU time and/or sleep. I am so sorry. No sleep is not a good combination with a fussy baby. I hope others can give you their tricks to get passed this step but I am here for you whenever I can! Much love to you!
I'm so glad you found my blog! I'll add yours to my list so that I can keep up on your going's on. I do have advice. As someone that had three children 3 and under, including one that would only sleep 20 minutes at a time, I have the following tips: 1. Always listen to your gut! You have mother's intuition for a reason. Follow it. 2. Use a box fan! Get one for Clara's room and one for yours too if you need. 3. Listen to HOW she is crying. You know if she is in pain or something is wrong. If there is, of course you will help her. If not, baby turn that fan on high and go right back to sleep. It might take several nights to correct, but DON'T even start the tradition of a "family bed". When my kids were old enough to understand words and would ask to sleep with me I would say, "Who's bed is that?" "Mom and Dad's." "And what's your name?" "_____" "Then this ain't your bed!" Remember: And it came to pass...it DIDN'T come to stay!
Britni- I am slightly experiencing this myself to MUCH lesser degree. I really like the advise that Paige gal gave you. I don't always think that the books are right either. You haven't screwed up completely! I know everyone says to let them cry it out. I can't do that either. I tried that one night to the point where she cried so hard she puked- I'll never do that again. Some times I'll let her cry or a sec. If it goes longer than a minute or so I give her her bottle in bed. She usually falls asleep within five minutes and I can take the bottle out of her mouth. sometimes I have to do this a few times in the night but I personally feel better about doing that than letting her cry her guts out- literally. I read some stuff on this too...I 'll have to call or email you.
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