Parenting in the earliest days of your child's life, I'm coming to find out, is like trying to solve one of those murder mystery dinners. or figuring out who did it, with what, and where in Clue. I'm not good at either of those things. I don't have the patience. I just want someone to give me the answer.
You might think that someone like me would find satisfaction in solving complex mathmatical problems, or figuring out super hard mazes. Or, you might know me, and realize that no, I'm a fan of just being told the answer.
Unfortunately, my child can't talk. She can't tell me the answer. I have no choice but to play along in the mystery madness. I'm not a fan, Ana Victoria. You can start talking any time now.
Last week, and all the weeks prior of her life. All 2 of them. She'd been a great sleeper at night. She would wake up every 3-4 hours to eat and go right back to sleep. It was new-parent heaven.
She has decided the last 2 nights that she needs to wake up every hour and a half. She has also picked up this awesome sleep habit of grunting. Awesome. I love it. And by "I love it," I mean, "I hate it."
I solved one mystery last night. She was too hot. I took her blanket off and she slept merrily for 2 full hours. I thought I had the mystery solved.
Then the grunting started up, again. Stretch. Grunt. Squeek. Grunt some more. Stretch again. Grunt. Grunt. Gruntidy Grunt.
What is that? Can anyone enlighten me? I need some sleep!
haha...shannon, first of all I love your posts! Cory and I can relate....we would work all week to figure out Joseph's sleep habits, (mainly naps) and we would finally figure it out like by day 6 of the week....Then the next week would begin and he would completely change. yep, we would be back to square one. I don't have the answers either. All I know is Joey was a loud sleeper too and so we put him in his own bedroom (right next to ours) and kept both doors open...that way he was close but not so close that i heard all the noises...babies make lots of noises when they sleep. I found that I cannot sleep with him by my side...haha. Good luck with figuring it out...your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteHey Shannon! Both my sons were grunters and I could not sleep thru it either! They're sleep patterns will change on and off (in my experience) for at least a month or two. I had to put a noise machine (fan or something) in our room so as not to hear every little noise they made...and then that didn't work for me, so I ended up putting them in their own room or in another room close by with my door and their door open so as to ONLY hear the real crying. That helped tremendously! You NEED your sleep to survive, so don't feel bad about doing this if you consider doing it that is! You will hear them crying! Every new mother is soo attuned to their newborns noises, that you imagine you are hearing them even if they're being quiet! So common! You do what you have to do to get some rest! (they will not remember this) and you are not being a "bad" mom by doing so! My mother constantly reminded me of this when I felt "guilty" about needing good sleep. Taking care of yourself is definitely the priority! You have to eat in order to feed Ana Victoria, you have to sleep in order to keep your emotions in check, take care of your family and survive! Praying for you! Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteHi honey, I am sorry you aren't getting enough sleep and of course are frustrated because you don't know what to do or what's the matter. When our first son was born he was two months early and weighed less that 3 lbs (don't ask me what that is in grams!) He was "released" from the hospital weighing 4 lbs (don't ask me what that is in grams!) and that same night was the planned baby shower... so I left Joe home with Teddy - what a MISTAKE! Every sound that tiny baby made his Daddy shoved a bottle in his mouth! That night and for weeks later that little "bundle of joy" woke up every HOUR imagining it was time to eat. I hate to tell you but he's still demanding and not easily satisfied in life and he's 35 years old! (that's 35 in years in Mexican time isn't it?)
ReplyDeleteI am SURE you and Ramon are wonderful parents - just know that this will not last forever and before you know it she will be 35! (OK that does take 35 years!) Love you! Hugs and kisses to you, Ramon and Ana Victoria Kathleen.
You were doing a good job of feeding her every 2-3 hours. But remember I told you about the growth spurt thing? She may be sucking you dry every 1.5 hours to get your milk production up so that she's getting more at each feeding within a couple days. Also, I agree with your other two friends...it may be time to move her into her own room. I moved Liam into his room at 2 weeks old and when I did it, it was the middle of the night. I was desperate, but the moment I moved him into his room, I fell asleep instantly. Every little sound is like 400 times louder in the middle of the night! You'll still be able to hear her when she's in the other room. Don't worry about sleeping through it.
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