I need help. I have anxiety over this. I don't know why...but probably because if I don't get sleep I feel like a complete monster. Sometimes I pretend to be easy going and laid back about it all...but I'm not. Not in the least.
Here goes. Some weeks, Liv sleeps all night with no problem. Other weeks she wakes up randomly, sometimes at 4:30am and sometimes at 1am. My problem is, what do I do with my toddler in the middle of the night. Without giving her a bottle. We are trying to wean her from a bottle and this isn't exactly the technique I want to use to put her back to sleep.
What I'm doing right now is putting her into bed with me. Which sounds lovely, but neither of us sleep well like that. I do it as a quick fix and either regret it all night or end up giving her 3oz of formula and putting her back in her crib after an hour.Its bad...there is always a little mommy abuse going on.
What I would do in a perfect world is walk into her room, change her diaper, give her a hug, tuck her in with her blankies, sucky, and seahorse, say I love her and walk out. Doesn't that sound lovely?
As of right now I do let her cry for a bit before I go get her. I time her for 10 minutes, sometimes 15 if I'm feeling extra patient. I have also read an idea of possibly giving her a bottle with water in it. I just think Liv would be royally pissed right off with that option.
Oh...and sometimes, when I put her back in her crib without a bottle...I have to be feeling fearless in this instance, well she screams bloody murder. Repeatedly and its because she wants the eff out of her crib and she knows if she screams like that long enough I am going to come get her. Because, really, who wants to hear their child scream like someone is torturing them.
I need a plan. If I don't have a plan, I cave in the middle of the night when I'm at my most vulnerable and sleepy condition. All the help I could get would be appreciated :).
Ugh, sleep issues are THE WORST. I found The Sleep Easy SOlution to be the easiest and most practical read out of the sleep books and they have a lot of stuff on dealing w/toddlers and older kids. Kind of the middle of the road when it comes to checking on babes and letting them cry a bit. Maybe it would give you some ideas and a good concrete plan?
ReplyDeletePS - Super cute picture of Liv at the top!
We are dealing with the SAME thing (sometimes I think we live the same life with our kids). Bella wakes up at 11 and sometimes 4 screaming, and the only thing that makes her stop is to nurse. It's become a really bad habit. And CIO? Doesn't work. She'll go forever.
ReplyDeleteI'll check back to see if you get any more ideas.
We had to let H cry it out. He takes after his parents in his stubbornness so 10 minutes wasn't going to cut it. I refused to give a bottle, it wasn't even an option. Right now, Liv knows that she'll get to sleep with you or a bottle. In her mind she wins. It's a few rough nights but it gets better, I promise.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one of the parenting books I read suggests not changing a diaper at night (unless poop) as to not wake up the child even more.
You are correct. You & Pat come up with an action plan and don't deviate from it. We just started weaning and I actually listed our action plan and stuck it up on the wall.
I hope you'll feel sleep success soon. If you ever want to chat or something feel free to message me. And also, I hope you don't find message in a bossy tone. It's only meant to offer helpful hints that may or may not work. Keep up the hard work! Liv is lucky to have you!
nbg
And remember there is always some freakshow parent whose baby slept through the night at 2 weeks old and weaned from the bottle in 1 day. Those are not the norm. The norm is parents struggling with sleep, eating, potty training etc well into kindergarten. Aren't we lucky :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nell! I definitley didn't take it the wrong way. It helps to hear that other parents feel the same way and I need to hear what they do to deal with it. If only they could keep their bottles forever.
ReplyDeleteDiana- I will let you know how it goes. I think i'll post a blog with my action plan as soon as its fine tuned :).
I get super anxious about sleep too. No idea why but it majorly stresses me out. (As of right now, my child is crying in his crib...)
ReplyDeleteI tried (for the first time) a modified CIO last night (at 5:00 am when he woke up crying). My husband said it WOULD NOT WORK. We let him cry for 5 mins, then checked on him. Then seven mins, then checked on him. Then let him cry for 9 mins and before the 9 mins were up, he was asleep. I was astounded!
Good luck my friend.