I pretty much expected to be sleep deprived when Blaine was a baby. So far it had been great though! Not bad at all! A few rough nights here and there but for the most part he'd feed and then go back to sleep realitively easy. I was functioning!!
UNTIL MONDAY.
Let's prelude this by explaining that Sunday he slept 20 of 24 hours in the day. Trust me, we tried to wake him up. We have realized awakeness during the day = sleep at night so we figured Sunday night would be rough. But he wouldn't be awakened for anything. We were scared of the night. However, Sunday night was a dream! Monday night is when the horror arrived and has not left yet.
Monday night = Blaine awakens and wants to feed every 1.5 hours. GAH. Trying to distract him / skip a feeding was suggested to me, but trust me when your baby is screaming bloody murder wanting to eat, and you are trying everything else without success, you feed him.
Tuesday night = Blaine won't go to sleep for the first time until midnight. He awakens every 2 hours (back to normal) to eat but from 3 AM - 6 AM wants to have "awake" time. Awake time is when you walk him around the house and he looks bug-eyed at everything; if you even think about sitting down on a chair to rock him or try putting him in a bed he screams bloody murder.
Wednesday night = More of the same. I even reluctantly try swaddling and a pacifier (I'm very against starting something you will have to wean from) but nothing will work and he is awake from 4 AM - 6 AM.
I realize this is common baby stuff (sleep problems) and think this article is great . Yep there are a few key items we are messing up on and will try to improve, but this statement is one I need to hang on my fridge: "MOST BREASTFED BABIES CAN SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT AT 5 MONTHES OF AGE". I hear of waaayyy too many babies that do so at 6 weeks!! I need to accept that I wasn't gifted with one of those babies. :)
5 comments:
Ugh, I'm sorry. It took Mr. Austin a full 13 months before he slept through - gah! I was a zombie! Wes made like he was going to be our dream baby, but hasn't slept through (and has been waking every 2-3 hours starting around 1 p.m.) since we moved. Sleep - argh! Good luck!
I have decided, and I'm not a pedi or even at all baby savvy, but I think sometimes Little Dude is going through growth spurts that lend themselves to sleep issues. This is just my intrepretation of the way things seem to go some nights/days. Good luck!! I hope Blaine gets settled and back into night sleeping soon.
To answer your question about pumping every 2 hours, it's to ensure that I develop and maintain a supply that will support the Dude as long as possible(hopefully at least a year). The first 12 weeks postpartum your prolactin levels are at their highest and that's the best time to build your supply. After I get past those 12 weeks I'll be able to drop some pumps and go longer in between pumps. The pump doesn't empty the breast quite as well as the baby does so pumping every 2-3 hours is the best way to signal to your body to make more. I do have a ridiculous amount of extra milk though. :) We even have to buy a new freezer to store it all!! I pump just under 50 ounces a day and Little Dude isn't drinking that much for sure!!
Its good for me to hear this. I need to be prepared. I am sleeping so poorly right now (33 weeks)...my husband said to me "only a few more weeks?" I looked at him like he was nuts....a few more weeks and then I can be up all night with a baby instead of leg cramps! Silly guys :)
Yikes! Hopefully this is just a fluke and he gets back to normal soon.
My brother recommended a sleep book for us that he swears by for his twin boys (they are now 4 yrs and he still refers to the book). It is 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' by Dr. Weissbluth. We started reading it when Eli was about 6 weeks old. It doesn't have any sure-fire solutions or anything, but it has some great advice. Something that reassured me at that time was that 5-6 weeks is almost always the fussiest age for a baby. Eli was really fussy for his 6th week, and then got WAY better. He went from sleeping 2-4 hours at night at 6 weeks old to 7 hours (he's now 10 weeks)!
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