The great sleep strike

Monday, August 12, 2013

I have reached a whole new level of sleep deprivation and exhaustion that I never knew existed.  Saturday I went to the grocery store for the sole purpose of getting walnuts to make a pesto for our salmon.  I managed to spend almost $50 and ended up forgetting to get freaking walnuts.  How embarrassed was I when I had to tell my husband that we were not going to have any pesto with dinner because I forgot it?  Oye.   

Many "concerned" people tried to warn me as soon as they found out that I was pregnant, that I would not be sleeping for at least the next 18 years.  I wanted to slap the $#!t out of those people.  Didn't they know that I had tried for so long to have a baby?  Sleep was the last thing that I cared about.  Of course babies don't sleep when you first bring them home, but they grow out of the waking multiple times a night and every thing is hunky dory.  Ha.

My little B has turned into quite the night-time party animal...drinking (breast milk of course!), arms flailing, talking, and laughing up a storm at 11:30 PM, 1 AM, & 3 AM.  All we need is some Jay-Z and we would have a regular dance party USA.  Now I have to get up for work at 4:30 AM, so this schedule is just totally sucking for me.  Last night I fell asleep at 9:30 PM and then was up at 11:30 PM and then for most of the rest of the night.  It is getting impossible to track his sleep on Baby Connect anymore because there are so many starts and stops.  Today my diary entry was "B doesn't sleep".  Enough said. 

I thought we were making progress when I was able to get him to go to sleep last night at 7:30 PM.  We followed his regular routine:

  • Gave him a bath at 6:30 PM.
  • Gave baby massage with lavender lotion.
  • Read 2 books (well 1 1/2, because he got fussy half way through "Sweet Dreams Roo").
  • Swaddled with 1 arm out.
  • Sound machine on w/sounds of the womb.
  • Laid him in his crib awake, but tired at 7:20 PM w/ pacifier.
  • Sat in glider and watched him fidget and finally fall asleep at 7:30 PM.
  • Woke up 45 min later and needed his arm pinned down for 1 minute before falling asleep until 11:30 PM.
I think I know what a few of the issues are here, I am just not sure how to correct them all...

1.  I think that part of the problem right now is the fact that once B wakes up, I bring him into our bed to feed him and 99% of the time I fall asleep doing it and wake up 2 hours later when he fusses.  I need to break out of this habit and put him back in his bed when he is done eating.  I think he just smells me and thinks it is time to eat again.  I need to get my lazy ass out of bed and walk the 10 feet to his bedroom to put him down in his crib. 

2.  He has developed the bad habit of getting distracted when eating during the day.  He now only eats for 2-4 minutes on a side during the day when I breast feed him.  He pulls off and looks at me and smiles.  OMG.  I love that smile, but I want to the kid to get most of his calories during the day so that I can sleep a little more at night.  He is over 16 lbs.  He should be able to go at least 5 hours in between feedings!

3.  He has serious gas at night.  My diet change has done nothing to help this.  I am counting down the days until we see the gastroenterologist. 

4.  He isn't really napping well, or should I say he isn't really napping at all.  He takes a 45 min- 1.5 hr nap in the morning and then that is pretty much it for the entire day.  He will nap on a walk or in the car, but he doesn't like to go to sleep in the afternoon because he is too busy doing things that almost 4 month old babies like to do (like trying to roll over and babbling up a storm).

Every morning I wake up and pray that tonight might be the night where I get 5 hours a uninterrupted sleep.  All I want is just 5 hours!!!  When I wake up sleep deprived and groggy I try to remind myself that this is just a phase, that he will grow out of.  When I see his smiling face for our 5:40AM scheduled feeding before work, it is tough to be too upset because he is just so freaking adorable.  Tomorrow I am working from home due to a scheduled GYN appointment for me and my "painful intercourse" issue (I'll have an exciting update about that tomorrow...haha), so I can "sleep" a little later.

Until I get my 5 hours of sleep, you'll find me sleeping under my desk...ZzzzZzzzZzzz.    

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2 Responses to “The great sleep strike”

  1. Poor thing! I agree, try to get him back in crib may work! Can you use gas drops with him at night?

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    1. Good idea. We haven't done them recently, but may resort to using them again. He was a little better last night and only woke up twice. I hope maybe this means he has turned a corner!

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