Well, mama ain’t laughin’. In fact, the opposite is happening – I’m crying. I think to myself “can it get any worse?” and “will it ever get any better?” The answer to both questions I know is “yes”. It CAN get worse, but it certainly SHOULD get better with time.
However, time seems to not be my friend lately. I have been subjected to non-stop crying fits starting at around midnight each night, and lasting at times until 4am. This makes for a crabby little guy during the day as well. I have been inhaling the books by Weissbluth, Ferber, and Pantley, just trying to find something that will work – anything to make the night bearable and to try and get my little stinker to sleep better at night. I have fooled myself with every excuse in the world – from “he’s teething”, he’s hungry”, “he’s scared”, “his belly hurts”, “he’s going through a growth spurt”, and even “It’s all my fault.” In the back of my mind I know that nothing is truly wrong, since when I enter his room, the crying stops, yet when I leave the nightly serenade begins again. He just wants me there, but mama needs desperately to sleep so that she can function during the day.
I’ve let him cry – didn’t work… he just cried harder.
I’ve tried going to him everytime he cried… didn’t work… he just cried harder when I left.
You’d think I was talking about a newborn with colic! No matter what approach I have taken, things have slowly been getting worse. Now that I look back, I realize that him waking up once a night to eat and returning swiftly and quietly back to bed was really the best it’s ever been. Oh what I wouldn’t do to go back to those days!
So, now the crying has finally stopped – it took 15 minutes. Guess that’s progress. I am wondering what the night will bring tonight. Maybe I will see some of you around at 1am. We should make a 1am support group for those of us who have sleepless children. I know there has to be at least one of you out there who feels (or at one point has felt) my pain.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Red Lotus Mama // Oct 20, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Yikes … Little ‘Ny went through spells of waking up in the middle of the night and I would have to sit by her side until she fell back asleep and I would have to get up a couple more times until she was done. Now, by midnight she is crawling into bed with me. I wish I had some miracle solution for you, but I don’t.
Have you tried Hyland’s Calms Forte for Kids: http://www.hylands.com/products/calms4kids.php. I use this for the nights she is really wound up and it does wonders.
Good luck!
2 Kim // Oct 20, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I have NO advice .. I will hold your hand though because my son is doing the same exact thing.. and I always have an excuse..
Kim’s last blog post..Finding My Backbone
3 MomBabe // Oct 20, 2008 at 2:43 pm
MELATONIN. Get some. Give it to him. Helps kids sleep, no side effects. I have to give it to 2 of my kids, otherwise, they’d be up partying days upon days upon days…. seriously. go buy some.
4 A Whole Lot of Nothing // Oct 20, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Poor Mama – I have no advice, unfortunately. Have you tried alcohol? For him?
A Whole Lot of Nothing’s last blog post..Show Us Your Tats!
5 Domestic Extraordinaire // Oct 20, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Lots of hugs. No advice as The Chicken loved her sleep and Giggles would just escape her cage….er, crib and room when she was that age and sleep on the floor in our room.
Domestic Extraordinaire’s last blog post..Better late than never
6 Tara R. // Oct 22, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I’m so sorry. I wish I had some sage advice, but for me all I can give you is let him cry… and invest in a good pair of ear plugs.
Tara R.’s last blog post..Random Wednesday ~ one man, one woman
7 Just when things start looking up… // Nov 18, 2008 at 10:54 pm
[...] wonderful thing, especially if you have read about my frustration with his sleep habits here and here. I admit that I now have a secret weapon which works like a charm, but I’m not going to tell [...]
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