Maria's been up every two hours (on the dot) the past four nights. What happened to that span of two or three weeks of one nighttime wake-up? I'm longing for those days. Getting hour-and-a-half increments of sleep consistently is taking a bit of a toll. I know this is normal for infants and all that, but I must say that I'm sick of hearing about babies who are sleeping through the night at this age. Right now Maria is sleeping in our bedroom, but both Drake and I are ready for her to be elsewhere -- buuuut, where will she go? I know the obvious answer is that she would go in Thomas' room, but that brings on a whole new situation to adjust to. Is it better to have just me on little sleep or start dealing with a potentially sleep deprived toddler as well? That's somewhat rhetorical, though I'd welcome any experiences/insight/advice any of you have with adjusting your kids to room sharing, particularly adjusting a nursing infant to a toddler's room. Maria is about 4 months old, and Thomas will be two this week -- thoughts?
I think all moms are sleep deprived to some extent. And it really affects my mood - one or even two nights of shoddy sleep I can seem to manage just fine, but three or more nights really is tough. The kids don't always nap at the same time, and, when they do, Maria will sometimes only nap in the Moby. And then when I wake up to loads of laundry waiting to be folded and put away, dirty dishes in the sink, toys strewn about the floor, well, it takes a great act of the will not to sink into instant discouragement that sets the tone for my day.
So this is what I'm going to do with my tiredness today. I'm going to offer it for a few specific intentions that friends have expressed -- several newly pregnant families, K who is getting married this week, D as she takes her nursing boards, and L as she awaits ankle surgery next month. I'll keep each of you and your intentions close to me today. I'm one tired momma, so I'm fully confident that you'll all get many prayers on your behalf!
And in the meantime...room sharing insights?
Hang in there momma!
ReplyDeleteYou are in my prayers! ; )
(CK)
I wish I had helpful insight. Maggie and Miles just started sharing a room, and its been an adjustment for all of us. They are a bit older though. If Thomas is a deep sleeper, you may find that he adjust very well to the baby being in there. Just put her down after him so he gets a good chance to fall asleep. Is there anywhere transitional she could sleep for just a little while longer, until she is sleeping through more of the night?
ReplyDeleteDon't worry she is going through a stage. She could snap out of it in a week, or a month, or maybe a few months, but it will not last forever. That was something I realized with John, my oldest, he was so naughty at the store when he turned 2, I thought I would never be able to take him to the store again. Then a month later he was perfectly well behaved.
ReplyDeleteIt is normal for four month olds to be waking regularly again. Isabelle still doesn't sleep thru the night some days. I gave up and brought her to bed with me. She spends the majority of her nights in her crib, but if she wakes up I don't have the patience to rock have her wake again, and restart the whole process. It won't last forever! Hugs to you and that beautiful baby!
ReplyDeleteJessica Pasternak
Thanks for the encouragement! Last night we tried her in a transitional place, like you mentioned, Sam. It worked out okay, but the setup of our little duplex makes it tough. Plus she's a light sleeper, which doesn't help much with a loud big brother around. I'm glad to hear this is normal (thank you, Jessica!) because I was starting to wonder what was going on. Trying to take this one day at a time. The pediatrician says to put her down at the same times everyday for her naps and for bedtime. That's a great idea in theory, I think, but it's not always possible if I want to take the kids anywhere. Staying home for all of her naps means that we could pretty much never leave the house! So we're going to stick with the spirit of consistency, but sometimes I think subsequent children kind of need to learn how to get in the sleep when they can (hope that doesn't sound cruel).
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