I CAN'T SLEEP!!!!
but i'm not nearly as unhappy as the other night.
just BORED as hell. and hungry and thirsty. it's ten to five a.m., and i've been up since a little before 3. trying to get musa to go back to sleep without nursing in bed with me. it's just as i had feared, the reason i had put off trying this for so long - once i have gotten up to try to comfort him back to sleep without bringing him back to bed with me from the crib, i am too awake to go back to sleep.
so, although alhamdulillah musa has managed to make it since midnight without nursing, it was only because i stood and picked him up out of the crib, rocked him (counted to 100 rocks), and used the pacifier to give him something to suck on. it's frustrating - the AAP book says your baby will be waking up at night for the rest of his life, so what you need to do is train him to be able to go back to sleep by himself. is it too early for this? i have no idea. and is it any good for me to try these other methods of getting him to sleep - rocking, pacifier - aside from nursing? i'm still helping him, aren't i?
i wish i knew WHY he was waking up like this. it only started around 7 months; before this it was just twice a night and then only a little fussing. now, i put him down for the night, and within the first 45 minutes to two hours he begins wailing - not fussing, or crying, but wailing very loudly, like he's afraid or in pain, with his eyes still closed, and 90% of the time nothing will calm him down except for nursing. yes, i read duaas on him, yes, i give him mylicon, yes, i feed him during the day plenty. it's not hunger, it's not gas, i'm like 99% sure. and it happens even when he's in bed with us all night, so i don't think it's some latent separation anxiety. it MIGHT be teething pain, but why is it only happening at night then?
anyway, speculate, speculate. i was spending the time writing my next article in my head - you'd think that would be boring enough to get me to fall asleep, but no. wide awake. thirsty as anything. ya Allah - fajr doesn't come in for another hour!! what am i supposed to do?? i am feeling sulky toward everyone out there who has ever asked, "why don't you sleep when the baby sleeps?"
outside, the day's traffic is starting to build up already. every ten minutes or so, some very loud and annoying truck goes by. something just went "crack" close by. i always worry these sounds will wake musa up... the firetrucks from the station just around the corner sometimes do.
but, would you believe it, i am almost hoping he will wake up now, so i will have something to DO with these useless minutes?
hmm, i guess this is a good time to pray, innit...
just BORED as hell. and hungry and thirsty. it's ten to five a.m., and i've been up since a little before 3. trying to get musa to go back to sleep without nursing in bed with me. it's just as i had feared, the reason i had put off trying this for so long - once i have gotten up to try to comfort him back to sleep without bringing him back to bed with me from the crib, i am too awake to go back to sleep.
so, although alhamdulillah musa has managed to make it since midnight without nursing, it was only because i stood and picked him up out of the crib, rocked him (counted to 100 rocks), and used the pacifier to give him something to suck on. it's frustrating - the AAP book says your baby will be waking up at night for the rest of his life, so what you need to do is train him to be able to go back to sleep by himself. is it too early for this? i have no idea. and is it any good for me to try these other methods of getting him to sleep - rocking, pacifier - aside from nursing? i'm still helping him, aren't i?
i wish i knew WHY he was waking up like this. it only started around 7 months; before this it was just twice a night and then only a little fussing. now, i put him down for the night, and within the first 45 minutes to two hours he begins wailing - not fussing, or crying, but wailing very loudly, like he's afraid or in pain, with his eyes still closed, and 90% of the time nothing will calm him down except for nursing. yes, i read duaas on him, yes, i give him mylicon, yes, i feed him during the day plenty. it's not hunger, it's not gas, i'm like 99% sure. and it happens even when he's in bed with us all night, so i don't think it's some latent separation anxiety. it MIGHT be teething pain, but why is it only happening at night then?
anyway, speculate, speculate. i was spending the time writing my next article in my head - you'd think that would be boring enough to get me to fall asleep, but no. wide awake. thirsty as anything. ya Allah - fajr doesn't come in for another hour!! what am i supposed to do?? i am feeling sulky toward everyone out there who has ever asked, "why don't you sleep when the baby sleeps?"
outside, the day's traffic is starting to build up already. every ten minutes or so, some very loud and annoying truck goes by. something just went "crack" close by. i always worry these sounds will wake musa up... the firetrucks from the station just around the corner sometimes do.
but, would you believe it, i am almost hoping he will wake up now, so i will have something to DO with these useless minutes?
hmm, i guess this is a good time to pray, innit...
posted by Ayesha | 4:49 AM
3 Comments:
salaams, found you via koonj.
I am sorry for the situation, may Allah make it easy for you.
For all my kids I fed them on demand, even in the nite, and about 10 months or so, they just sleep thur the nite anyways, so I don't think it necessary to stop feeding the baby. Just my opinion. I think it's just suffering both baby and mom.
I agree that babies do need a mechanism to go back to sleep on their own... but that does not have anything to do with them crying because they are hungry.
My first son had a security teddy bear, and it works very well, he got up... found it, and went back to sleep. He's 4 now, alhamdilillah, sleeps fine.
My second son has no security thingy... and he CANNOT put himself back to sleep... he wakes up and runs into our room and goes to sleep next to us... he does not ask to be fed, he is not hungry, he was just trained by his dad to go to sleep being cradled in his arms... so guess where he ends up when he can't sleep! I wish we had gotten him something!
My third son is only 11 months, and he also does not wake up to be fed during the nite. When he was about 7 months I realized that he could not put himself back to sleep, but he looked like he really liked grabbing the crib sheet... so I got him a taggie http://www.taggies.co.uk/cgi-bin/estore/show_entry?index=1
and he loves it! I trained the guy to have a security thingy, and now he just puts himself back to sleep, or just comforts himself.
They all need something for comfort.. right now it's you, but they can be trained on something else. I think what the concern is that they would get trained to get comfort from a bottle, or by feeding, which could happen, but I do not like the idea of not feeding hungry babies during the nite for fear of them always waking up... you will know if they are hungry or just needs the comfort... if you look out for the difference you should be able to help them get comfort from something else.... sorry for the lengthy comment. hope it helps.
AWFUL not to be able to sleep, cuz. :( I'm prayin' for you, meri jaan.
I'm confused about the baby sleep thing.
But I do leave a teddy bear and a stuffed dog in her crib, and I find her nuzzling it to sleep often. Which of course does not mean she doesnt wake up to be comforted.
shaz,
thank you, it does help! a friend of mine had a taggie, i might get one. i have been trying the pacifier for the last couple of nights... its tricky coz he pulls it out himself, but it seems to calm him down generally. i think its definitely for comfort, most of his waking, coz most of the time as soon as he latches on, he goes into sleep-sucking mode...
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