I am a mom and so by definition I am tired ALL the time. Add to that my gimp thyroid and I go from tired to exhausted in about 2 seconds flat. Recently my exhaustion has hit a whole new level. Enter Miss M. M has not slept consistently through the night in at least a month. I'm starting to feel the haze I lived in during her newborn/reflux months. I'm not sure the real cause of it yet. You see, she's gotten and still is getting teeth, has been sick, we've been traveling, missing naps, etc. But now we have reached a whole new level of it. It's now become that M is waking up at 2 am because she wants attention. Yup, to be entertained in the middle of the night, and what is more entertaining then seeing me scramble it trying to locate her baby/blanket/pacifier or whatever else will get her back to sleep.
Last night (actually the wee hours of this morning) we had one of those incidents. M woke up at 2 am just as I had gotten to sleep (out late for a movie and then talking with J). I went in there and she threw a fit. Literally. She threw everything out of her bed and was yelling at me. So what did I do? Closed her door and went back in my room and freaked out because I've reached my absolute exhaustion point. J promptly woke up and went in there and rocked her for about 15 minutes. No sooner is he back in here than I here M kicking her bed. I chose to ignore it and at 3:45 am she started crying again. I had given her some more tylenol at 2:30 just in case it was the teeth monster that was bothering her. So, I checked on her and then left. 2 minutes later I didn't hear a peep.
So what have I learned from this?
1. I need to buy ear plugs so that I don't jump out of bed and race in there at every noise with the speed that rivals an Olympic runner.
2. I need to get rid of the pacifier. I have been putting it off and putting it off, but it's time. I think part of her waking is because she drops it behind her bed or out the side of it. So I need to start that after Thanksgiving because I don't want to hear it from my family when she's screaming for it.
3. She really is ok and I can't let her cry for a few minutes.
4. As much as M is the cause of my exhaustion, I'm training her to do this.
So we will enter Sleep Bootcamp #2. We did Bootcamp #1 with C and it worked. Took a few weeks, but she got through it and we got more sleep. Time to start again. Does anyone have any words of encouragement or tips? Or maybe a strong cup of coffee??
I'll post updates once Bootcamp begins...wish us luck (and sleep!).
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3 comments:
K. You'll get through #2. We had to do that with my little man and that was so much fun (NOT!) that I learned my lesson. Miss A has been a good sleeper from about 6 months on but has her moments. When she does, she's on her own. Just know you are not alone, get a couple of nice bottles of wine, the ear plugs, and some benadryl to help you stay asleep. V.
No tips - just sympathy. We are planning on getting rid of pacifiers soon too - tried it once and failed miserably. Lack of sleep makes one lose resolve for anything. Hope that you get sleep soon!!!
UGH! So sorry to hear of your sleep trauma!
We did the pick up put down from the Baby Whisperer Solves all your Problems book when Ryan was 9 months old. It worked, but we still go in there when he cries, but he knows he's not going anywhere, still 2 years later.
Hope it ends soon!
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