We (that is, I) slept better last night. Still too foggy to recall all the details.
The one regression was that he woke at both naptime and bedtime after 30 minutes. Which, to my mind, means that it's not (solely?) a sleep association problem but something that makes it difficult for him to move through sleep cycles. After that first 30 minute hump, he did sleep until 10:20 (so, maybe 2.5 hours?). He slept with me (I think) until he woke up around 1:00ish. And then back in the crib until 3:00. And then back with me until 5:00. Or something like that.
The exact times I moved him back and forth are pretty fuzzy, but it seems he spent about half the night in the crib and half the night with me. He sleeps more soundly in the crib, and he seems to wake every ~2-3 hours until around 3:00, which has always been a sucky time for him, and then it really is close to hourly.
But at least it's not the all-night suckathon. Because the problem, really, isn't that he nurses. It's that he smacks and paws and pinches and the sucking isn't productive/nutritive, it's a half-sucking that makes me want to rip my nipples off. And who can sleep through that?
When he nurses for food, he generally finishes and rolls away from me.
So. I'll keep it up for another few days to see. And if I catch up even a little bit on sleep, I might be able to have a firmer resolve in the middle of the night to keep him in the crib. But the goal right now is simply MORE SLEEP. I don't mind continuing to co-sleep if we actually sleep.
CIO clearly is not the worst thing in the world and might be helping. But it certainly isn't--for us, anyway--one of those tales of a baby crying for an hour one night and then twenty minutes and being done. It's about 20 minutes of unrelentless screaming every time. And if that doesn't change, I don't think I'll keep it up.
I do have a mantra I tell him as I put him down: "Mama loves you. And I will come back for you. But right now you need to nap in your crib so you are healthy and grow." Helps me at least.
The one regression was that he woke at both naptime and bedtime after 30 minutes. Which, to my mind, means that it's not (solely?) a sleep association problem but something that makes it difficult for him to move through sleep cycles. After that first 30 minute hump, he did sleep until 10:20 (so, maybe 2.5 hours?). He slept with me (I think) until he woke up around 1:00ish. And then back in the crib until 3:00. And then back with me until 5:00. Or something like that.
The exact times I moved him back and forth are pretty fuzzy, but it seems he spent about half the night in the crib and half the night with me. He sleeps more soundly in the crib, and he seems to wake every ~2-3 hours until around 3:00, which has always been a sucky time for him, and then it really is close to hourly.
But at least it's not the all-night suckathon. Because the problem, really, isn't that he nurses. It's that he smacks and paws and pinches and the sucking isn't productive/nutritive, it's a half-sucking that makes me want to rip my nipples off. And who can sleep through that?
When he nurses for food, he generally finishes and rolls away from me.
So. I'll keep it up for another few days to see. And if I catch up even a little bit on sleep, I might be able to have a firmer resolve in the middle of the night to keep him in the crib. But the goal right now is simply MORE SLEEP. I don't mind continuing to co-sleep if we actually sleep.
CIO clearly is not the worst thing in the world and might be helping. But it certainly isn't--for us, anyway--one of those tales of a baby crying for an hour one night and then twenty minutes and being done. It's about 20 minutes of unrelentless screaming every time. And if that doesn't change, I don't think I'll keep it up.
I do have a mantra I tell him as I put him down: "Mama loves you. And I will come back for you. But right now you need to nap in your crib so you are healthy and grow." Helps me at least.
I'm glad you're finding something that's at least letting you catch up on the extreme lack-of-sleep you've been dealing with! Here's hoping you can get even more soon, and that he figures out that he's not being abandoned, just allowed to sleep how it works best for him!
ReplyDeleteThinking of you!
When he wakes @ 30 minutes is it a slow, quiet waking, or is it a startled awakening with an outburst of crying? About 20 - 30 minutes in is when he should be transitioning to deep sleep. If he "screams awake" it could be night terrors, which is different from nightmares. It's not a dream, but a physical response to something that happens in delta (deep) sleep. Some doctors theorize that it's the body's way of protecting itself from falling into too deep of sleep. Night terrors are seen in kids, who are traditionally the deepest sleepers, and is typically something they outgrow. I would talk to his pediatrician if he continues to have that pattern of wakening.
ReplyDeleteSurlyMama: both ways. If he's crying, generally he can go back to sleep with assistance. If he's not, he's decided he's done with his nap...
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