Well......it did not go so smoothly.
She took one nap yesterday, from 1:30-2:30 and then my husband picked her up and she fell back asleep in his arms 5 minutes later until 3:30. We fed her at 6:50, bathed her at 7:20, and then I nursed her at 8 and laid her in the crib very drowsy. She turned herself onto her tummy, whined a little, then fell asleep. At 10:30 she woke up crying, which was odd because she has never woken up at that time before....it's usually past midnight when she wakes up. My husband goes in there, gives her a hug, lays her back down, and walks out. She screams for 5 minutes, and my husband goes back in to repeat the process. During the next 10 minutes there are periods where she quiets down, even lying down at some points (to restore energy?), but then stands back up and screams. Hubby goes in and she gets even more agitated. 15 minutes more of the same alternating between calm and screaming.... just when we think she's about to fall asleep she stands back up and screams full blast. It is HEARTBREAKING. I spend the last 5 minutes staring at the baby monitor until hubby tells me time is up and I go into her room. Her bed is wet due to mucous and tears so I pick her up and we change the sheets, which only wakes her up even more, but she's laughing and smiling (which kinda makes me feel like she's played us.... but isn't that supposed to happen only after they turn 2?) Her nose has been running a bit these past 2 days which caused the wet sheets, but she doesn't seem sick otherwise. I hold her for about 5 minutes and she gets drowsy in my arms so I lay her back down and pat her for about a minute. She rolls over and falls asleep.
She wakes up at about 5AM and I quickly get my husband up. I also think, should I go in and feed her? He picks her up.....so not Ferber.....and holds her for about 5 minutes and then lays her in her crib and she falls asleep! She sleeps until 8AM.
Now I'm just totally confused. I think the problem may have been that I nursed her in the dark at 8 and so she was practically asleep when I laid her down? I'm going to try feeding her dinner earlier today so that I can nurse her before it's lights out. I also think maybe we waited too long before going into her room at 10:30? She was crying already for about 3 or 4 minutes when we went in there after she woke up. But isn't that anti-self-soothing? However, it was a small triumph that hubby managed to get her back to sleep at 5 without much crying and NO NURSING.....which has led me to doubt this whole Ferber thing yet again. We're going to try one more night though, just so we know we've tried it for the full 3 days like our pediatrician suggested.
Yes, we are well aware that we have no idea what we're doing.
4 comments:
hello..coming by to visit your blog .. have a nice day!!
I use to nurse my baby after her bath at 8pm in the dark to help her remain calm and put her in her crib. She also changed her wake up times too. It is like once you get used to, if ever, her waking times she changes up on you. It is nothing you did. If you feed her earlier or later is not going to make a difference. At 9months I think they go through another growth spurt, and also consider her teething. They have symptoms long before teeth actually show. Also, if she recently learned something new like standing up. My daughter did the same exact things. It was exhausting but it will get better and she will sleep through the night soon. They also go through seperation anxiety between 7mos - 12mos. So my husband and I use to cuddle, kiss, and love on her and sway her back and forth before putting her in the crib. It worked really good.
I hope she starts to sleep better soon. Thanks for linking up with us at MFM. I'm returning your follow from The Thrifty Things.
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