I have a pretty great baby, if I do say so myself. He's extremely cute (again, I certainly think he is). He rarely fusses, and when he does, you can usually figure out what he wants. Mainly crying means he's wet himself or he's hungry. Neither things are difficult things to remedy. He eats every 3 hours or so, which is very manageable. He gets a bath at night, around 9 or 9:30 and he really enjoys it. Then he gets his night time bottle, and off he goes to dream land. He'll sleep for 3 - 3 1/2 hours until his next bottle. Mommy gets up, changes him and feeds him again. He falls asleep with relative ease and sleeps for another 3 hours.
Then the wheels fall completely off. Some demon takes over my angelic, perfect baby and refuses to let him sleep. Clark gets up and feeds him, then tries to put him down. Devil Hayden will then wake up an hour later, crying. He's not hungry, so that's not the problem. He's not wet. Is it gas? Who knows. As soon as Devil baby gets picked up, he's fine. This god-awful vicious cycle lasts until his next feeding at 6. He'll sleep for short bursts of 20 - 30 minutes then he's up again. I thought, should we change his formula? This makes no sense b/c any other time he eats he's completely fine and no gas problem. Even God's gift, Mylicon isn't fixing the problem during the witching hour. We've clearly entered an alternate universe if Mylicon can't solve my problems.
Now, I realize that newborn babies are not expected to sleep through the night. I don't expect him to go down at 9 pm and wake up at 7 am potty trained, walking, talking, composing symphonies, solving complicated mathematical equations or painting self portraits. I mean, I'm reasonable. 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep during this devil time would be outstanding. So what's next? A baby xanex or a baby ambien? Unfortunately, I don't think those drugs are available (but how freaking awesome would that be if they were?!), and if they were, I believe CPS would get involved immediately if administered. Also adult xanex or adult ambien does not seem to be the solution either. Something tells me I would be dealing with the whole CPS issue again if Clark and I just loaded up on Ambien so we could sleep and let Devil Hayden scream. So, to the 3 or 4 people who read this blog...any suggestions? Because Clark and I are barely making it. How do we exercise the demon that's obviously possessing my otherwise cherubic child?
Please note the time this blog was posted as evidence of just how desperate we are. Also note the complete lack of humor.
Wearin' of the Green
10 years ago
I would try the "miracle blanket" it is pricey ($40) But worth it. Once i FINNALY went and got one James wore it until he was about 4.5 Months old and he started sleeping so well. I would say it helped us just as much as mylicon! James back on this liquid gold!!! Check out the blanket AND it makes swaddling EASY and they dont get out of it!!! Babies tend to wake up bc they startle themselves! love you and I hope this works as well of yall as it did for us...
ReplyDeleteAnd in a few months he will be sleeping for 8pm-8am!!!
http://www.miracleblanket.com/index.htm
Oh Kelly, I sooo know what you mean. I only have the one child to go by, but he did this same thing! Nothing seemed to work. He hated being swaddled, so trying to tuck him in just made him angrier. We tried snuggling with him for awhile until he settled down. We tried rocking, bouncing, stepping outside (it was the middle of summer, so the night air was perfect)... nothing. The one thing he did love was his swing. Adam and I got to where he would wake up around that time but obviously wasn't hungry, so we would pick him up, move him to his swing and got another couple of hours sleep. I'm not suggesting the swing would be your miracle too, but just to try out some different things to find that one thing that he loves that will buy you some precious sleep. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh! Also, I bought the miracle blanket. I think I have it around my house so let me look before you buy one. If I find it, it's all yours. It was used for exactly 45 seconds.
I do wish I had the *magic* you're looking for but I don't. Other than time. I know it sucks to hear if over and over again when you are in the dark, desperate hours of "barely hanging on" but magical-type things really do begin to happen around 6-8 weeks. You are getting close.
ReplyDeleteWhile passing said time I would say to try a little "gripe water". If memory serves me from last year it's a combination of water, sugar and a bay leaf. Don't ask but it did seem to help calm Miss V during the most horrific of screaming fits. I guess kids enjoy sugar at any age. (Really it's only a teaspoon or so but they don't have to know that).
I do think of you often and send well wishes and strength your way via telekinesis but I don't think I've master the art just yet. So, I'll plan to keep stopping by here and offering you ongoing words of encouragement.
Oh kelly! I am so glad to know of your blog through Kristen. I was in the same boat with both kiddos. It seems that feeding around 3am is the magic hour that babies seem to want to stay awake. I remember us walking the hallways at 4am and passing off until the next feeding with Kate. What helped us was definitley swaddling with a blanket that we call the "miracle blanket" - I have a pink one if you want to borrow ( if clark doesn't mind! haha!) Here is the link to it- http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3016264
ReplyDeleteWe also used the exercise ball to bounce Kate to sleep - worked like a charm for her.
BUT with all this said - there really is no magic thing - just time. Hang in there Kelly! Give me a call if you need anything at all!