Saturday, September 1, 2007

Sleep Deprived

So... I was thinking today about how I haven't blogged in four weeks. And it is because I haven't slept much and am becoming delirious. Baby G doesn't sleep well for some reason and has yet to decide that her crib is a good place to be. After a lot of agony and exhaustion we decided that it was time to let her "cry it out" when it was time for her naps. She was refusing to take a nap at all and would fall asleep while I was holding her only to immediately wake up if I tried to put her down. I am not okay with this so after she has fallen asleep, we are putting her in her crib and trying to keep her asleep. I won't go more than 30 minutes and I am sure she is the most determined baby in all of history. The other day I forgot to keep track of the time and was trying to keep busy so I wouldn't want to rush in and rescue her. I was getting so much accomplished I didn't realize that it had been a half hour until it had been 45 minutes and she was still going strong. After a week of this without any improvement I decided to go another route in getting her to at least nap in her crib. I am now standing there holding her while she is laying in her crib until she forgets that she is in her crib. The reason I don't like this tactic is that it is very similar to laying with her but since she sort of came to do that anyway why not. Last night was the first night I did it and after about 39 minutes she was asleep only to wake up 10 minutes later when she realized I was no longer there. I layed her back down and started all over this time it took her 20 minutes to go back to sleep. By this time, it is 1:30 in the morning and I basically pass out due to pure exhaustion when about 15 minutes later my 5 year old comes in and says her tummy hurts and her big sister wants a blanket. (They are currently in this phase where even though they have their own beds, they want to sleep in the same bed. And last night, they thought it would be fun to pile all the blankets and stuffed animals on top of the bed before going to sleep. So all the blankets were under that pile. Add to the scenario that it is exceptionally hot here and they really didn't need to cover up.) I absentmindedly tell her to go back to bed and I will take care of it in a little bit. Then after a couple of minutes I realized what I said and what her problem was so I got up to take care of them. Got them a new sheet to cover up with from the linen closet because that was so much easier than digging through the bed to find the one at the bottom. I was just getting back in bed when my 8 yo son started coughing. I went in to check on him and he is so congested that he can't breath. I get him propped up and taken care of and then off to bed for me. At this point it is somewhere around 2am and I am in desperate need of some serious sleep. Baby G woke up around 5am when my honey got home from work. She fell asleep after nursing and was up for her day at 7:30. And that is what my nights have pretty much looked like for the past month. Every night hoping for some sleep and lucky to get any at all. Really truly relying on God's strength to get me through each day. Baby G is doing great though and has been cruising all around the living room going form the couch to the chair to the coffee apple juice table. She has also decided that she would prefer to feed herself and not be spoon fed. She is doing finger foods really well and I am really proud of her even though at the same time I am sad that she is growing up so fast. We took the kids to McDonald's for a treat a few weeks ago and here is a pic of her first french fry. (Don't worry she doesn't get these a lot. Like I said - a treat.)


4 comments:

  1. I hear you. Training them to sleep works different ways for different kids. Hannah was my easist by far and if she wakes up in the middle of the night either she is sick or has had a bad dream. On the other hand Jennifer rarely sleeps through the night, although, she once did. And Christopher has asthma so some nights are good nights and some are not. It depends on how his asthma is etc. Having an asthma attack in the middle of the night triggers night terrors and he wakes ups screaming before we realize he needs a treatment. He has had asthma so long he doesnt realize he needs to tell us he is having trouble. We don't always know ahead of time cause he doesn't always wheeze or cough. So.....the nights I do get sleep or special.....LOL. I celebrate nights Mommy gets a full nights sleep.....LOL

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  2. I can completely relate. Vincenzo will wake up unable to breath and won't tell me because he doesn't' want to wake me. I have to remind him all the time to tell me.

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  3. I think being so young with breathing issues makes them see the way they feel as "normal". They don't realize other people don't have to struggle to breath. Christopher was diagnosed at 12 months and he will be 7 this month...so to him it is normal to have to work to breathe.......sad but true.

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  4. That is probably it. It is a normal part of their day. So sad.

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