The little lady has been a horrible sleeper lately. Getting up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours and then not sleeping unless I'm holding her. Every time I'd put her down in her crib she'd wake right up crying. If Sean would hold her she'd think it was play time and want to be social so it was basically up to me to hold her all night long (if I wanted to get any sleep). I was at my wits end and decided that maybe she needed some structure on sleeping. Sean and I decided that we'd sleep train little miss Hannah. I really didn't want to do the "cry it out" method. It just didn't seem like a good fit for Hannah, me, and especially Sean. So I went online and did some research on sleep training. We came across the "no cry sleep solution". Sean and I read about it and actually agreed with a lot of it. So.... we decided to try it out. Here's how it works:
Put your baby to sleep... When she wakes up the first time, pick her up, console her, calm her down, and put her right back down. If she fusses... repeat. One person said they got up 126 times to do this one night, then 36 the next, 4 the next, and finally had an all night sleeper. Hannah's first night I got up with her 4 times, the next 36, then 16, then 2. Then Sunday came around... her naps were off and she really didn't get a good solid nap in so needless to say that night was a very rough night. Monday night... success! She only got up twice! Once to nurse, the second just out of habit. I consoled her, put her down and she went right back to sleep! So I was feeling pretty good Tuesday. She had good naps throughout the day etc. When she woke up from her late nap she was really unhappy and grumpy. I consoled her, rocked her and she fell asleep again. But when she woke up she was as happy as can be.
As I was tickling her an hour or so later I noticed her mouth and a few extra teeth in there. I was shocked! I knew she was trying to get her two top teeth pushed through and finally did. But when I looked again I saw two more little buds of teeth! My little Hannah had been trying to push through 4 teeth at a time! No wonder she'd been so unhappy these past months! no wonder she wasn't sleeping! No wonder she wanted to be held! My poor little lady was in pain and trying so hard to get those teeth through! When I found this out I called Sean and told him. We both laughed and realized her sleepless nights were all for a reason and not just because she was a bad sleeper. It's funny how when you find out a reason to why things are happening it makes them that more bearable. Her teeth are just peeking through so I'd imagine we have many more sleepless nights ahead of us but at least there's reasoning behind it! (And for the record, whoever is reading this.... yes we've tried giving her Tylenol but she throws it up every time. She has teething toys, etc. The best thing for her is to let her push them out... beats cleaning throw up!) Teething tablets are a no go... basically anything that is helpful is not for this little lady. She's one of a kind! But we sure love her :)
Here's to more sleepless nights and teeth to come! haha :)
Poor kid! I love those aha moments in parenting. Honestly, I dont think babies need sleep training until they are a year old because of all those changes in their little bodies. One of the coolest things Ive seen, that wasnt around five years ago, are those mesh food pouches. E would have loved to chomp on real food or an ice cube while teething, but I was too afraid to let her.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I didn't see this! Sorry Kristin! I agree with the whole sleep training too. I think, especially in the first year that babies cry for a reason and you can't hold a baby too much. I also read somewhere that you can't spoil a baby their first year either. After the first year though babies understand and start to remember better so you should be consistent with them. She's actually sleeping TONS better even with a cold! her teeth are all through. She's just growing up so fast it's so sad :( obviously great haha but sad that she's growing so fast. She looks so grown up with 6 teeth! I hope you're doing well my dear! I sure miss you! Give Evie a big hug and your little G a big kiss for me!
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