Monday, March 28, 2011

Sleep - Oh how I miss you!

Sleep - it consumes the thoughts of new mamas. We cruelly ask each other, "How long does your baby sleep at night?" I don't know why we do this. It is no fun to hear when someone else's baby sleeps better than yours and usually, if you are asking the question, that is the case.

I try not to compare my kids, but I'm going to right now. Elise was an amazing sleeper. She'd sleep 12 hours straight at night and then take 4 hours of naps during the day. I credited this to God, because I prayed regularly for a good sleeper when Elise was in the womb. But, I also gave myself a pat on the back - hey, I must be doing something right! However, today I give all the credit to God and the power of prayer because I didn't think to pray about this with Lilah. I figured I'd get another good sleeper. I was wrong.

Not that Lilah hasn't teased us into thinking she was going to be a good sleeper - she slept several 12 hour shifts in her 3rd and 4th months. Then she was on a once up a night routine for months five-seven. That was fine, too - very manageable. However, as we creep closer to month 8, things have not been going well. Lilah is up at least twice a night. We've tried changing her bedtime, more solid food, her cry it out; none of it works. Nothing works but milk.

Oh how I miss sleep. I've pretty much given up on getting it this year. Perhaps next year.... (Good thing she's so cute during the day!)

2 comments:

Tamara said...

I can TOTALLY and COMPLETELY relate! Wyatt has been pulling the same stunt! He was a fabulous sleeper around 2 months...then by months 3-4 things spiraled out of control (like up 5+ times a night out of control!). After our holiday travels we hit the sleep training program hard. But Wyatt has proven to be a SLOOOOOW learner when it comes to sleep! And he's so stinking happy all the time that it's hard to even get frustrated about it! Right now he's up 1-2 times a night...which is a HUGE improvement...and it's taken us a couple of MONTHS to get to this point! UGH! I thought I had the whole baby sleep thing figured out, especially since Wy is #4...I think God is teaching me a lesson in humility! :) HA! I'll think of you and say a little prayer for a restful night's sleep for you when I'm up with my littlest guy for his midnight milk fest! :) Love and miss you!!!!

Hillary Redden said...

I feel your pain. Parker and Cole were the exact same way. I didn't sleep with Parker until he was 11 months old. Hang in there. I look back now and wish I had had more patience going through it, but I know when you are soooo tired, getting up at night is the last thing you want to do. And I will let you know what clothes I need, if any, when you get yours back. Thanks for being willing to loan them. :)