First, the good news. I talked to a nurse at the pediatrician's office and she said to mix Miralax in Jackson's food, so I've been doing that for three days and we're starting to see some improvement in the pooping department. Hopefully that continues to get better.
And as for the sleeping...I think I did that last post a day too soon. Since then, it has been pretty rough. He still goes down quickly, both for naps and at night, but he is now waking up so many times during the night! He either wakes up and cries & fusses for an hour or two before going back to sleep for two hours tops, or he wakes up and fusses, then goes back to sleep within 5 minutes when we give him his soother and put a hand on him...and then wakes up again 10 minutes later and repeats that pattern for an hour or two. Usually during the night we go through both of these patterns at least once. Sigh.... maybe we're not being consistent enough because we often give in and pick him up and hold him for a bit, and sometimes I get so fed up with it and am so tired that I just feed him so he'll go back to sleep and I'm not supposed to do that according to the Baby Whisperer plan.
We had decided that we'd give it through this weekend and if it still wasn't better, we'd do the cry it out thing. I really don't want to do it, but I'm about at my wit's end with this. Maybe I'm a bad mother, but I'm afraid it won't bother me too much. Sometimes when it is 3:30 am and I've been up for 2 hours with him already, I really do just want to walk out and let him cry. He's got a little cold now, so we'll put it off until he's over that, and hopefully his tummy will get a little more regular soon too.
Wish us luck!
8 comments:
wow... that doesn't sound fun. But I am excited to see him tonight and to hang out with the both of you tomorrow.
Hi Natalie. You don't know me so well, but I have 6 kids (yes, 6) They've all slept pretty well for me, except the most recent two... My 1 1/2 year old used to only sleep if daddy was snuggling her. I finally moved her to a crib and let her cry it out a few times during the day (so I could still check on her without being miserably tired)... and soon she was sleeping very well at night. I'd lay her down, she'd cry for about 5 or 10 minutes and she'd be asleep for the whole night (this was around age 8 months)
My little guy who is almost 9 months old, doesn't do as well and won't take a binkie either, but he does I do have him cry it out and then he sleeps for about 5 hours at night. and he takes 2 or 3 naps during the day. about an hour each.
Crying it out isn't so bad. It makes the mom feel guilty but it teaches the baby how to soothe themselves.
I know I'm not a professional or a book author, but its worked with all my kids. If you want more info you can find me at my blog http://stefaniepete.blogspot.com or email me at stefaniepete@gmail.com Seriously I am more than happy to help.
Have a great day!!
Natalie-- I know how you feel. I did everything with our first however, I learned that a little of the Whisperer and a little cry it out goes well together. All three of the children have had various issues with sleep and a good routine with a little (5 minutes) crying goes a long way. Good luck. I do not envy you. Stick with it though it is worth it. Kap
Natalie-
First of all, ever since you've had Jackson, I've been totally impressed with how well you've picked up motherhood. You seem to do it so naturally, and I'm not just saying that. I KNOW how hard it can be! Don't ever put yourself down or blame yourself for something the baby has to learn. Second, Do you have ANY memories from babyhood? Chances are that neither will Jackson. This is what I always tell myself when we go through the crying-it-out stage with our kids, "They'll never remember it." Don't believe any of the stuff you hear about damaging your baby's trust in you, that's putting the blame on you again. They have to learn. Period.
(***side note: I've never tried this, but maybe try putting one of those dimly lit motion lamps in his room. It might have some sort of hypnotic effect! LOL!)
Thirdly, Remember, you don't have to be an expert the first time through. Every child does this differently and after 3 I thought I'd have it down pat, but no. Caleb didn't sleep through the night until after a year. This is for your own learning and especially for Jackson's. I know how it is to do the "mercy nursing" in the middle of the night. That's something I've learned to fight too. You deserve your sleep as much as he does. Just make sure his needs are met at bed time, diaper, feeding, possibly a bath, and then stick to a schedule that he has to get used to. Babies need routine. Best of luck Natalie.
Okay...I totally know how you feel! Jack was a horrible sleeper until we just let him cry it out. I didn't want to do it either, but it was in our long-term best interest. The first night was the worst. We let him cry for 2 hours before going to sleep. But every night after that the time was cut in half. I'm so glad we did it. I learned my lesson with Luke. When he was born we basically started it from the very beginging to kinda let himself fall asleep on his own. Otherwise, the baby gets too used to being rocked, fed, or whatever. I know that every baby is different...but I totally believe in letting the baby cry and learn to fall asleep on their own. I'm sorry that you aren't getting a good night's rest. It is so hard on a mom to function during the day on no sleep. Good luck, sister. You'll have to let us know how it goes...
you are NEVER and will NEVER be a bad mother Natalie!!! I have no advice other than that! You know how I got my babies to sleep!!! good luck!
It's easier if you can be in a different part of the house while he's crying it out, so you don't hear it and feel too bad. Then you can just check on him every 5-10 minutes. Good luck! It's so worth it, and you will actually be a better mother for doing it, because you will be a well rested mother. :)
Don't feel like a bad mom! I won't give you too much advice except that we just let Eliza cry it out. It's hard to do, but it was very effective with her. I would cry in the other room, but it only took a few nights to get it done. My suggestion is to put in headphones it makes it more bearable. :)
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