Yes, I'm writing about sleep (lack thereof) AGAIN. Sadly, it's all I think about these days. I have become a very boring person.
I am reading a book about a stripper. That's a little bit interesting. It's for my book club, no less. We are serious intellectuals.
And I'm really enjoying my Wii, although I have yet to score a Fit. I did order Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Play.
Additionally, I made it through Maddie and Riley's second birthday party and the accompanying influx of relatives.
Basically, I'm in survival mode right now, which makes for dull blog content.
Stay tuned, if you have the stamina. I hope to return to a more normal semblance of self soon. I am nothing if not an optimist.
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23 comments:
See, I am still recovering from my influx of relatives, who have left now a week ago. But I have faith to be through my reader by tonight. And then there is laundry, and the dishwasher, and the piles of crap to sort. You like my priorities, no?
I'm still in the parental influx. I'm impressed that you're doing ANY blog posting given that list...
I don't know if it will help you ... but for awhile, we started giving Grayson a snack of oatmeal about 30 minutes before bedtime. It seemed to "stick to his ribs" as it were and suddenly, he started STTN with more consistency. Once that happened, we were able to cut back until he doesn't have a snack before bed (usually).
I was wondering if a little trick like that would help you all out ...
Ah, relatives. I assume these are in laws and not your parents. I hope they were in good form. And by that, I don't mean fine form or rare form. :-)
Diablo Cody of "Juno" fame's book? You all are a cool book club! :)
Wishing you sleepers soon...maybe some dull (non-stripper ;) ) literature for them before bed?
(Just started doing the BlogHer ads on mine yesterday...think it might be worth sending another note their way. Bet they'd be THRILLED to be affiliated with you! :)
Oh man. Are we in trouble. My almost 19-month-old has only slept through the night in his entire life about 10 times. I've been guilty of nursing him to sleep most of his life, so I can't blame him. We did finally CIO at bedtime a few months ago with decent success - but the middle of the night stuff is still a problem. As you noted, leaving him in the middle of the night does sound like terrorizing him. I'm afraid he'll hurt himself as he shakes the crib and tries desperately to climb out. He seems to put his arms and legs through the bars intentionally and then flops down kamikazee-style. This goes on for hours...
Man, all I can say is, sympathy. Don't be too hard on yourself. Yeah, the ideal is to be calm and reassuring and consistent, but in my experience it is often almost impossible in the middle of the night with a sleepless baby. And I have only one baby and am not parenting alone.
Since your night is my morning Paris time, I'll send encouraging thoughts your way early tomorrow... and hope you're not awake!
We've gotten a sleep reprieve lately, with just one wake-up and relatively easy bedtimes, but I have no illusions that there won't be tough periods well into toddlerhood.
wow, this sounds really difficult! I know it probably won't help, ...but I will say it anyway - sooner or later, things will improve. Really. They will. Really.
But, right now you have to deal with the now. Sounds like he really needs a way to comfort himself back to sleep (one of what I found to be the most important gem ideas from the ferber book). When my two were younger (they are now ages 5 and 8) I had this little music box thingy that would hang on the crib. It had a BIG heart shaped red button they could push and they would get 10 min of lullaby music. I used to hear it on and off during the night and I would know they had woken and pressed it. It seemed to really help. It totally ATE 'C' batteries, but it also save my life/sanity. Heck - I was just closet cleaning the other day, and found it and the 5 year old was playing with it and has been going to sleep with it for the last few nights! I googled and could not find it - it was not the fisher price Ocean Wonder thing. Can't figure out why they don't make it anymore. Anyway, it might be worth finding something similar even thought they are marketed for babies, it might do the trick...
I second Monica's advice - my lowly singleton boy will be 18 months old soon, and he still enjoys watching his "fish" swim around in the Ocean Wonder thingy. He'll grab the empty bottle from his crib (never did pacifiers, but likes bottles) and quietly enjoy the fish and the wave sounds until he falls back asleep. (Delurking - HUGE fan since the CNN article, and now am a total addict...)
Keep trucking.
Sounds like the summer dulldrums we're going through too.
Blahness....it can be so tiring sometimes.
And nope, CandyGirl didn't do it for me either.
Thankfully I'm in the middle of Kite Runner and is totally making up for the other "literature" we ventured through. How did we ever pick this one?
Have you tried a soft teddy bear with your scent on it? We've found that the FAO Schwartz Bears work the best because they're really soft.
I used to drive to a park during my lunch hour and take a half-hour nap (alarm clock is a must!).
I'm sorry you haven't been getting consistent sleep. That is so hard.
A friend of mine posted today with a great name for this: "emotional flu" when it's so hard just to move and get things done.
Hang in there, we're all here for you. Sleep deprivation is the worst!
I found that from 1.5 until 2.5 years I never slept well, then all of a sudden my girls started sleeping well. They are now 3.5 years old and I still get up at night (but normally only once to put them on the loo) as I am "night potty training". Fortunately my moms house is near my office - I used to go there in my lunch hour and sleep for about 35 minutes, it really helped.
I'm there with you for the sleepless nights. My 22 month old likes to get up two to three time a night becuase she has not mastered covering herself up. Plus I have a summer cold. It is amazing how my husband can sleep through it all. I don't know how single mothers do it, I give you much credit
I'd like to be in your book club... although I really should be joining your Wii club. :-) Are you doing the Wii thing too close to your bed time? I hear that starting the day with fitness regimen give you energy and better sleep at night...so if you do it too close to bed time, you end up not sleeping well.
Oh, I hear you on the sleeping through the night issues. My kids are 4, and I think I can count on one hand how many nights I have slept uninterrupted. Lucky for us, (my turn to knock on wood) going to bed isn't a problem. It's staying in bed. Once 2 or 3am rolls around, they wander in to sleep with me or want me to come in and sleep with them. This too shall pass, right?
Unlike the rest of your commentors, I haven't yet read Sleepless Nights, though I plan to jet on over there asap. As I'm right there with you. I have a 2 month old. I need say no more.
Reading the comments, though, I have to chime in on the Ocean Wonders thing. Jack adores that thing, and will gaze at it all day if we leave him in there. So, go-go Fisher Price!
And three cheers for single moms of twins. I bow down to you, oh goddess of maintaining-your-sanity. The fact that you are still getting out of bed each day and trooping through - it's wonderful. You are amazing.
Oh, Dance Dance Revolution! That sounds fun!
I just got my copy of the book...I need to get reading. Oh heck, if I read it too soon, you know I'll just forget it.
And in case I don't own up to it enough, my B-man never sleeps through the night. We've had his sleep messed up since infancy. Although, he did sleep through last night, their first night in big boy beds. Of course, N-man fell out of bed twice, so that didn't really help *us* sleep through the night :)
Is it bad if my comment is longer than your post??
SYTYCD tonight...my fingers are crossed for Kournti. I heard a rumor each couple does TWO dances tonight...usually they don't start that until the Top 10 I seem to recall.
Hang in there. You're a tough cookie and my hero. Your story and writing has inspired me, and you sound like you can take on anything. This phase will pass, and you will handle it with grace.
My son will be six months old Sunday. He's up once in the night for a feeding but sleeps six or seven hours at a stretch. I'm thinking about sleep training, but I'm not sure I'm strong enough. I just miss eight uninterrupted hours, man.
Let him in your bed! Lay with him as he falls asleep in your bed, if you have to (but let him go to sleep in your bed, avoid the night-wake-to-be-moved-to-your-bed thing). Put side rails up to keep him from rolling out (baby stores have them). If/When he wakes in the night, you are right there for a little snuggle, but don't talk, turn lights on, get him a drink, etc. Just snuggle and say "it's time to sleep" and ignore the rest of his babbling efforts to interact with you. He will outgrow wanting to be in your bed. This was the only way my older one would sleep as a toddler (in our bed). My youngest, now a toddler, interestingly, has never wanted to be in a shared bed and never bothered us at night once he outgrew the night-feeding age(probably because he sees big brother in his own room, own bed, etc.). Don't sweat bed-sharing, he's still just a baby (ok, toddler!). By 4, my oldest voluntarily left our bed claiming he couldn't get a good night's sleep as it was too small for the 3 of us! LOL. Found you via CNN article and everytime I read of your sleep problems, I so want to make it better for you! Sleep was the one thing I could not function well without! It will pass, no matter how you handle it now. So just make it the least painful and most restful for yourself now, and do whatever it takes even if it's bed-sharing!
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