After going back and reading my post in my sleep deprived state I wanted add a few things to make a bit sense. So this post may be a bit different if you came back to read it for a second time.
How in the world did two parents that love sleep have a child that Hates sleep? Please riddle me this? Drew still doesn't sleep through the night, never has. Yes you read that right. NEVER has slept through the night. Now my standards I don't think are too high. All I'm asking is to sleep like 7 consectutive hours, but no dice.
I've read just about every sleep book and I even caved and we tried The Feber Method last night. That didn't go over well. It ended with Drew screaming, me in tears and I just couldn't do it anymore and neither could Brendan. You might think we need to toughen up and maybe we do, but he's my child and watching him have huge alligator tears rolling down his face pleading for me to pick him up, I can't handle that. We did try it for a good hour mind you.
The problem isn't so much him going to bed, but staying asleep. He gets up twice nightly to eat and he eats 6oz. both feedings. Usually he sleeps from 7-12am and then again wakes up at 3 or 4am. This is the feeding that is killing me. He does not want to go back down after this feeding. He will sleep on me, but not in his crib. I honestly don't think he is hungry for 6 oz. every 3 hours. This is where our next plan to cut down his first feeding comes in. What I would utimately love to happen in my storybook world is that he would be able to sleep until 1 or 2am wake up eat 6oz. and then go back to sleep in his crib until 6am. Oh how I would love that.....This is where our next plan comes into play. We could be dreaming, but we will give it a shot. Our pedi suggested this, as she told us that at Drew's age he should be able to go 6-8 hours without eating. He goes 5-6 hours during the day, so I am confident my little guy can do this! I have hope!
Our last plan is to gradually cut down his first feeding in oz. After that I'm at a loss. I am open to suggestions or I might just plan to sleep when he leaves for college in 17 years....
Again suggestions please!!! I'm at a loss!!!
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5 comments:
Ooh... that is difficult. We did do the cry it out method starting at 4 or 5 months. It really worked for us. Consistency makes things much much easier. However, if that isn't going to work for you, I totally get it. It's not easy. Luckily our little one cried for pretty short times and the fuss was over in just a couple days. She now sleeps like a champ. Oh, back to the crying it out... in the middle of the night when she cried, I would turn off the monitor and set my alarm for like 15 minutes later. If she was still crying after the 15 minutes, I would get up and console her. More times than not, she was back to sleep within those 15 minutes. Only other thought I have is to talk to your pediatrician. Perhaps they would have some suggestions and expertise to share. Good luck. I know it isn't easy.. Here's hoping you get some good sleep soon!
I know this isn't what you want to hear but waking up twice a night is completely normal for his age. I know it's difficult to deal with but it's normal and if he's taking 6 oz each time, he's waking up for a reason - he's hungry. Reducing the ounces he gets will probably just result in more crying. :(
Hi Abby, I am so sorry. I am another Mom with a baby that is not a fan of sleep. We did the CIO method too and it was tough, you just have to stick with it. Try it again, it will eventually work. I blogged about my whole experience to hopefully give Moms hope, take a look at it if you would like or please feel free to contact me with any questions. The first few nights were AWFUL but Jillian now sleeps through the night and even WANTS to go to sleep at bedtime now. It's been three weeks since we did it and she is a completely different baby. I was so skeptical of it too because I was thinking there is no way my non-sleeping child would be like the other babies who it worked for but she is!!!! The night awakenings were hardest for us too, I believe the first night she cried for over an hour but we didn't get her, Jeff and I just talked the whole time and clung to each other for moral support. The next night she only cried at her night awakening for 20 minutes so it does get better. I learned that the younger they are to do it, the better. Hang in there, I would love to give you as much moral support as I can. Trust me, it really does work!!!!!!
Karen
We cut down 1 oz a feeding to and it worked like a charm :-) (Dont hate me for saying this) but G used to sleep 12 straight hrs, then started waking up 1-2times a night to eat so after a few weeks we started cutting it back an oz every 2-3 days...by the time she was down to 3 oz she started sleeping all night again. I know it's tough w/o sleep...I don't know how I made it through the first 2 months of G's life. We had to do Ferber for G during daytime naps and believe me it was hell.on.earth. I cried and hated myself for 4-5 days but it was well worth it. Your doing an amazing job momma!! Keep us updated on how D's doing!
You got great blog here. Keep it up.
See you around.
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