My boobs woke me up this morning. Daniel slept more than seven hours straight last night — from 1 a.m. to past 8:30, and my boobs were so engorged from the lack of use that when I turned over onto one side, the pain of being so full woke me up. (Well, the pain and the fact that the front of my nightgown was wet from the leaking.) I'm thrilled that our boy is sleeping so long at night ... but I wasn't expecting the side effects.
When he isn't sleeping, he has been very fussy. He cried and fussed most of last evening until he finally fell asleep (while nursing). And he fussed a lot today when he wasn't napping, nursing or (rarely) smiling and cooing. I don't know what's wrong. I can only keep holding him and trying to soothe him. I wish I had Ellen's knack for rocking him to sleep. She had a way of bouncing him in her arms while she swayed that knocked him out in minutes. He's not one of those easy babies who can fall asleep in his crib. He only falls asleep in our arms, and if we put him into his crib before he reaches deep sleep, he wakes up and starts crying again. Which is why these six- and seven-hour stretches of sleep have been a godsend.
So it was one of those days. I had breakfast at 10:00 and lunch at 3:30, tiptoeing around the kitchen and scarfing down banana bread and split pea soup between feedings and cries. I watched nearly all five hours of the BBC's production of Pride and Prejudice, plus Oprah, while Daniel nursed and napped on my lap. By the time Steve got home, I was still in my nightgown and bathrobe, nodding off on the couch while Katie Couric read the national news. Now I finally have a few precious hours of time to do with what I wish. Steve is holding Daniel, and I am here, getting things off my chest. Next comes a nice hot bath.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Em, I wish I were there to help rock him to sleep!
I'm glad he was able to sleep so long last night. Pretty soon you'll probably be able to develop a more solid routine. The trick to getting a babe to sleep is not only the motion, but authoritative motion. Not like grown-ups are mean or anything, but we know when it's time to go to sleep. Now if only I could live by this in my life, hehe...
Emilie, this may not be what you want to hear, but I was told that you are supposed to let them cry themselves to sleep occasionally. (Now keep in mind, my experience began at 6 months, not two months.)
And I will tell you that it's hard as heck to do that.
I couldn't stand the crying. I didn't want them to be in pain. It hurt for me to think that they were thinking that I had abandoned them. I just imagined them thinking, "why won't she come? Does she not hear me? Does she not love me. I don't want to be in this big room by myself. I want to be with her."
But eventually (after a couple of months) allowing them to cry themselves to sleep worked.
Each night, i would snuggle, rubbed the child's back and snuggle again before I placed an almost sleepy child in the crib.
And you are so right, just before the child's head hit that mattress, the child wakes up, wide eyes and start screaming.
It's like they are saying, "What the heck do you think you are getting away with. I am on to you, woman!!!!" (smile)
But then I would start picking set times I would allow them to cry... 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes.
I don't think I ever let it go past 5 minutes.
And let me tell you, it got LOUD!!!
I was told that I had to set the boundaries and that I had to establish routines. The child had to learn to follow my schedule or the schedule I set for him and not the other way around. Now keep in mind, I was dealing with older infants.
It's tough and I would assume it is especially tough when you are dealing with a two month old who is still nursing at night.
My prayers and thoughts go out to you.
Wahoo for a long stretch of sleep! I hope Daniel just had a fussy day and is happier today. Maybe it was a growth spurt - I was amazed at how spurt like they were... a day or two of constant nursing and then she'd back off again.
The days of holding a fussy baby all day in your robe won't last too long and believe it or not, sometimes I miss them!
No advice that I can offer, just a cyber hug and ear. Things will be better. Let's get together soon, I'll be happy to carry him around for a while! :)
Oh, wow... that's got to be rough when you COULD sleep, but for your rock-hard chest! I can't imagine. But yay for a good night of sleep (for Daniel, that is)!
I continue to think of you often and so wish I could drop by to baby-sit! Keep hanging in there - you are doing great!
Post a Comment