Away from the blogging world the last couple of weeks. It seems as though all of my goals for the year are due now, now, now. Or at least everyone wants them now, now, now. Urgh. I can only do so much.
Ms. C has also decided that sleeping through the night isn't so much her thing. I was spoiled for the last several months. Her dad and I are hoping it is a teething issue and not a new pattern. Last night she awoke at midnight, angry that she couldn't (read wouldn't) flip over from her belly to her back*. Earlier in the evening her dad had commented that we should really begin the process of having her put herself to sleep. She will put herself to sleep but only if she can suckle on her burp cloth, which isn't really a safe option since she could either a) choke herself by sucking it too far down her throat or b) strangle herself by having it twist around her neck.
Yes, I admit it, we've been 'those' parents. The one's that rock their babe to sleep at night. Mostly because I end up putting her down and I love to see her face resting on my shoulder. However, she is getting heavy (we estimate somewhere in the 20 lbs range) and a dead weight baby is hard to hold onto for any length of time.
Anyway, I got up with her and flipped her to her back but that didn't stop the fussing. I picked her up but tried to stay true to our new commitment of having her put herself to sleep and ended up putting her back to bed while she was awake (after 30 minutes of calming her down, getting her back into a sleepy state of mind, trying to sing her to sleep while standing next to her crib with my hand on her belly, rolling her onto her side, etc.). Didn't work. Loud crying ensued but I bore down and told her dad that we would have to wait out the storm. Yeah right. You know what he did??? Got up, picked her up and brought her into bed. I was like WTF? Well, even that didn't take so I got back up, took her from her dad and fed the tot. She finally fell back to sleep. (We're not trying to starve her, really. I waited that long only b/c she doesn't usually eat much and prefers to sooth herself by suckling on her burp cloth).
Any parents out there have suggestions on how to put their little one to rest at night without a lot of pain and anguish?
On a completely unrelated note. I am SICK of snow and cold. Yes, it is nearly 40' right now and the sun is shining so what the h-e-double hockey sticks am I complaining about? I want to go for a walk outside with Ms. C. Ahh....spring in MN.
*Please note, she flipped herself onto her belly. We are good parents and follow the rule of back is best.
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2 comments:
Ugh. I remember those days. We went through it with both girls. I totally agree that you need to get her to put herself to sleep. Trust me - it's much better to get her in that habit now instead of later. I have many friends that can attest (as they sit next to their 4-year-old until he falls asleep every night!).
Routine is your favorite word. Read her a book, rock her & sing a lullabye, play a favorite CD, whatever it is - just do it the same way every night. It'll be tough at first, but she'll get used to it eventually.
And yeah, you can't bring her into bed with you but let's face it - we've all done that because at the end of the day, you do whatever you need to do to get some darn sleep!!!
Good luck - and I've missed your blogging!
I've got a *good sleeper* right now and I'm just waiting for the day that that changes...Trying to follow a routine hardest - in our house it's because Steve gets home from work and wants to hang out with her and then doesn't FOLLOW THE RULES (sound familiar?)
But I love the snuggle time...sometimes I go and get her because well, I just can't not (I know, double-negative - for effect...). I guess that's just what happens sometimes. :)
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