On days like today I'm wondering how I ever survived those first few months after having Allison and never sleeping more than 3 hours in a stretch. For the last couple weeks Allison has not been sleeping well. After flying back from Texas she kept a low fever for a few days and we figure it was her 2 year molar teeth. we were giving her ibuprofen before bed and she'd sleep till about 3am. the last 3 nights she's only slept till midnight. The best way to get her to stay back asleep is for me to sleep on the floor next to her. ugh! And if I didn't say it before, 90% of the time only I can get her to sleep or back to sleep. I so wish Jeff could take some of that off my shoulders but she'll just scream for mommy.
I've been reading up on sleep issues with toddlers and the proper way to set up a bedtime routine, etc. I admit before our routine was to read books in my lap then cuddle till she was asleep or almost asleep and then I move her to her bed. That's bad because when she wakes up she needs me - the feel of me or rocking or back patting or something to soothe back down to fall asleep. I need to let her learn to settle down on her own. So I'm willing to work on that for the bedtime routine. Last night I laid her down awake, lights on, walked over turned the lights out and just sat down in the middle of her room. No trouble. The night before was at least 30 minutes of trouble putting her back to bed again and again, no eye contact, very limited words, etc. I guess it just depends on how worn out she is.
But what the hell do I do at midnight or 3 am when she gets up? I have no energy to battle it out with her on who can last the longest. First off from experience in the last couple weeks I will loose the battle, I'll loose my nerves, I'll slam doors and throw down blankets and if it gets so bad then I just walk away and leave her screaming and Jeff gets her for a few minutes while I calm down (sort of) in another room. That is what happens when I'm sleep deprived. I lose my sh*t. I admit it. I wish I could have the patience my husband does and I try, and can be pretty good at it during the day but not at 3am when I haven't had 6 hours of sleep in a week. I'm almost in tears as I write this. Why the hell do I let a 2 year old get me so worked up? Then I get pissed that I am so emotional about it. It's a stupid cycle of crazy female hormones that I wish a man could experience just for a damn day.
So I'm about to spend $15 on a book or 2 that I have no idea when I'll have time to read. Because the only advice are giving me is to put her in bed with us. That doesn't work, we've tried. What I really want to do is spend a couple hundred bucks and run away for a few nights so Allison will have to get used to her daddy putting her to bed at night.
A change of topic to a happier note. Allison talks all the time. We understand alot of it, especially if we're in sight of her and see what she's sees or points at. It's exciting to see her vocabulary grow or when she throws out a word you don't remember teaching her. The latest really cute word is 'help' or as she says it 'haalp'. We're still working on sizes for big and small instead of everything small being a baby and a bigger version of it being a mom or dad.
I've been reading up on sleep issues with toddlers and the proper way to set up a bedtime routine, etc. I admit before our routine was to read books in my lap then cuddle till she was asleep or almost asleep and then I move her to her bed. That's bad because when she wakes up she needs me - the feel of me or rocking or back patting or something to soothe back down to fall asleep. I need to let her learn to settle down on her own. So I'm willing to work on that for the bedtime routine. Last night I laid her down awake, lights on, walked over turned the lights out and just sat down in the middle of her room. No trouble. The night before was at least 30 minutes of trouble putting her back to bed again and again, no eye contact, very limited words, etc. I guess it just depends on how worn out she is.
But what the hell do I do at midnight or 3 am when she gets up? I have no energy to battle it out with her on who can last the longest. First off from experience in the last couple weeks I will loose the battle, I'll loose my nerves, I'll slam doors and throw down blankets and if it gets so bad then I just walk away and leave her screaming and Jeff gets her for a few minutes while I calm down (sort of) in another room. That is what happens when I'm sleep deprived. I lose my sh*t. I admit it. I wish I could have the patience my husband does and I try, and can be pretty good at it during the day but not at 3am when I haven't had 6 hours of sleep in a week. I'm almost in tears as I write this. Why the hell do I let a 2 year old get me so worked up? Then I get pissed that I am so emotional about it. It's a stupid cycle of crazy female hormones that I wish a man could experience just for a damn day.
So I'm about to spend $15 on a book or 2 that I have no idea when I'll have time to read. Because the only advice are giving me is to put her in bed with us. That doesn't work, we've tried. What I really want to do is spend a couple hundred bucks and run away for a few nights so Allison will have to get used to her daddy putting her to bed at night.
A change of topic to a happier note. Allison talks all the time. We understand alot of it, especially if we're in sight of her and see what she's sees or points at. It's exciting to see her vocabulary grow or when she throws out a word you don't remember teaching her. The latest really cute word is 'help' or as she says it 'haalp'. We're still working on sizes for big and small instead of everything small being a baby and a bigger version of it being a mom or dad.
11:04 AM
I have read about the following but have not tried: Put her to bed and sit in her room until she starts to drift off. Every night or 2-3 nights, move a few feet further away from her until you are outside of her room. This is supposed to reassure her that if she calls for you, you are right there. It is going to take a great deal of time for her to get used to the idea, especially since she has had such a "lovey" night-time for so long. The other thing you have going for you is that she is is older and getting to the point where you can sort of reason with her.
The up at night thing lately, really might still be from her teeth or an inner ear thing that bothers her when she is horizontal.
If all else fails, get yourself a comfy air mattress so you can at least get a couple of hours of shut eye on her floor.
How has the change in morning routine been this week?