That sounds like an attempt at a bad joke, but I promise that actually happened.
You guys, I am tired. Not exactly an earth shattering statement coming from the mom of an infant, I know. But the thing is, I just can't figure Macey out at night. The way I explained it to my mom and sister is like this: Macey is an awesome baby. Pretty darn near perfect in the temperament department. After we got past that two week Witching Hour phase, she became the most laid back baby ever. She doesn't need to be held; she's content just to sit and observe and smile. And the smiles! Oh my goodness, are they ever adorable. She's also started to coo and the "Ah goos" melt my heart. And nap time? She's a pretty darn good napper most of the time. She can put herself to sleep and she takes at least two 2-3 hour naps most days. She's one of those babies I've heard other moms talk about in passing and I don't know whether to congratulate them on their good fortune or punch them in the face.
And then night time comes. You would think (okay, I thought), that since I have her on a consistent, good routine during the day, night time would be a breeze. Or at least predictable. That's what all the books say, right? Ha. Macey proves the experts wrong. This girl hates being laid to sleep on her back. Her arms startle her awake often, so I thought swaddling her would take care of that little problem. I even invested in the much hyped Miracle Blanket. Guess what? Macey hates being swaddled too. She will grunt, squirm, fuss, and eventually cry out until she is freed from her swaddle imprisonment. So, my mom was kind enough to purchase a Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper for her. I've heard great things about this little contraption; it keeps the baby elevated so they're not flat on their back, it's nice and deep so there's the feeling of being swaddled without the actual act of swaddling. And you know what? Macey does okay in this. She will sleep in it for 3-4 hours at a stretch sometimes if I rock her completely and totally to sleep before I place her in it. If I put her in it awake and drowsy with a paci? Forget about it. She's not having any of that.
In my desperation in the wee hours of the morning, I have tried lying with Macey on a mattress on her bedroom floor. That was always my answer with Camden: if he was having a bad night and nothing else worked, I'd stick him in our bed and he was out like a light (after nursing, of course). Macey, however, has no interest in co-sleeping like her brother did. I realize that's probably a blessing in disguise, but man-- at 4am, I often wish she had her brother's affection for our old sleeping arrangements. If it's possible, she's even more restless when sleeping with me.
So our nights go something like this: Macey does an initial stretch (anywhere from 3-4 hours most often) in her Rock and Play Sleeper. Then the rest of the night is filled with me trying different approaches to get her back to sleep with varying levels of success: rocking her, nursing her, putting her in her crib, swaddling, unswaddling, co-sleeping. Hence, the reason for my exhaustion.
You might be wondering why she naps so well and soothes herself to sleep during the day. It's because I break the cardinal rule of infant sleep and let her sleep on her tummy at naptime. She loves it. She's comfortable and she sleeps well. But I'm a nervous wreck about it, and so I'm not comfortable letting her sleep this way at night time. During the day, I have her ceiling fan set on high, her paci in her mouth (all SIDS risk reducers), and the video monitor turned on so I can constantly check her chest for motion. Obviously, I wouldn't get any sleep stalking a video monitor this way at night.
So, that's where I'm at. Great routine during the day, and all over the place at night. I think this would stress me out a lot more if I were a first time mom again. Now, I just power through the nights the best I can and know this too shall pass.
10 comments:
What about those monitors that they lay on and if they stop breathing it sounds an alarm? You could sleep and she could be on her belly?
Oh Kerri, 2012 must be the year of the non sleeper! Ezra will only sleep in the hammock on his pack n play (that he will outgrow very soon) and won't sleep on his back either. We swaddled gage, doesn't seem to work w/ Ezra so we actually have him half swaddled mostly for warmth and tummy pressure and it only seems to work half the time. We're still figuring it out for sure! I am running on less than 4-5 hrs of sleep each night and its killing me. Ezra just loves to be held, I would tie
him to me if I could! Hope it gets better....
Laura would only sleep in her tummy. I was nervous at first, but then sleep (oh! Sweet sleep!) won out big time! My dr couldn't tell me it was ok, but she hinted strongly that if the baby is sleeping, but able to move her head around, go with what works! You're the mom, so follow your instinct.
I remember those nights with Katie too, spending sometimes 2-3 hours just trying to get her to go back to sleep. It is exhausting. But it seemed like overnight, maybe around 2 1/2 months or so, she just started going right back to sleep after eating. And ever since then, I haven't once had to work at getting her to sleep. She loved the miracle blanket though. And a few weeks ago she learned to roll from back to tummy so she sleeps on her tummy. This will pass, hopefully soon, because you need your sleep :) Maybe try white noise? I use a fan CD on repeat all night with her. Not sure if it helps her sleep, but at least it blocks out noises too. Macey is adorable. I'm glad she's such an angel for you during the day :)
Jodi
Sounds very frustrating. Right now we are kind of the opposite - VERY unpredictable during the day and really hard to get to nap, with an awful 3 or 4 hour witching period in the evening, and REALLY hard to get to sleep for the night, but at night time he no longer needs a bunch of ridiculous shenanigans. He's up every 2-3 hours to nurse, but I can put him back in his crib afterward and he'll sleep.
Who knows how long this will last though.
If I were you I'd just put her on her tummy at night time. I know it makes you nervous (it would make me nervous too which is why I haven't done it), but if she would definitely sleep that way, I would do it.
Good for you for not stressing... I know that "this too shall pass" (about the "I won't let you put me to sleep for a nap and I'm miserable for hours every evening" stage), but it still does cause some stress for me. Not nearly as much as the first time though.
They have changed the back to sleep front to sleep so many times over the years. My oldest is 18 and the doctors all said stomach to sleep then 7 years later when I had my son it was back to sleep. He was a dreadful sleeper. At about 10 weeks, I put him on his stomach and man did he sleep like a champ! Your the mom you have to go with your gut, but I say do what works - in a few weeks she will be rolling over on her own anyways and will roll onto her stomach if thats how she likes to sleep. JMHO. Good luck :)
Oh Kerri, I'm sorry. I know how brutal it can be living with the segmented sleep... I remember at one point seriously having trouble constructing sentences.
My good friend had a baby two weeks before I delivered Leah. She ran into the same exact issue. And you know what? She finally gave in to the tummy sleeping at night. She bought the Angel Care Monitor that has the motion sensor - I have the same one - and had a baby sleeping through the night within a week. (baby was 2 months, by then)...
I will say that I like my Angel Care Monitor, but it does give off false alarms here and there.
I hope you find a solution that works for you both - soon!
Love the rock and play sleeper! My baby loved it and slept in it until he was 4 months old. I think he did so well in it b/c it keeps them so snug while they sleep. Hope the exhaustion passes soon.
Growth spurt time. Do you nurse her before and after naps (if not always, at least during growth spurts?) 6 weeks is a normal time for growth....
My 2nd was also not a good sleeper while co-sleeping, but I still got a tiny bit more sleep that way.
Breastfed babies should gain two pounds a month in the first four months. It takes a lot of eating to gain that much weight!
Hope you figure it out.
At first Witten spent most of his naps in his bouncer seat, which is a Fisher Price bunny one, and he loved it. Then I started putting him in a swing, awake, and letting him stay in that. He would sleep for so long. Till it broke. The motor does not consistently keep it moving, so annoying! So he is back to the bouncer, which I usually put him in awake. He is the best napper of my 3 but the poor guy always gets woken up to go pick up Alana from school. He'd sleep even longer if his naps didn't fall on that time of day.
I don't know what will work for you, but if you find something that works, stick with it. Maybe when she starts to get a little bit bigger you'll be more comfortable letting her sleep on her stomach at night time. Until then, good luck!
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