We had a busy weekend, including four different parties of various natures and working in children’s at church. I have to say, Tiernan is a champ. He did fabulously all weekend in spite of of the crazy goings-on and transient naps. Oh, and I have an amazing husband who spoils me. When we went to Lowe’s to buy the paint for the house, he let me pick out another power tool. That’s three since Mother’s Day...now I have a jigsaw, circular saw, and a sander. But let’s not forget the woodburner, too. As for what I have been doing with said tools, here was one of my first projects: a coat rack/shelf for by the garage door.
On a different topic, I recently broke my resolution and went against my better judgement (Robert’s advice) and started to read a baby book. Invariably, it produced the same response as all the others: it a) made me feel like a horrible mother b) confused me beyond reason by contradicting every other book I’ve read and c) contradicted my experience with Tiernan. It insisted that late naps would not interfere with bedtime...except guess who was up until 11:30? Or the cute idea that an earlier bedtime would make the baby sleep later...nope. Not happening. I’m sure it applies to many babies out there, but Tiernan defied just about every point the author made. I’m glad that some mothers find baby books helpful, but they have failed to be helpful for Tiernan so far. (I have exaggerated. There are two that I read while pregnant that were actually helpful. But they dealt more with tiny newborn stage which we are past...)
While the baby book was thoroughly unhelpful, we are still having some issues with Tiernan’s sleep. From time to time he will wake up every two hours all night and refuse to be comforted except by nursing, which kills any chance for a good night’s sleep for me, which in turn makes me cranky and impatient and not up to the demands of motherhood. The book’s suggestions did not seem to apply, but it did get us thinking that perhaps spending some time observing and charting his sleep patterns would give us a better idea what we did need to do, so we’re starting there. We’ll see what happens next.
While the baby book was thoroughly unhelpful, we are still having some issues with Tiernan’s sleep. From time to time he will wake up every two hours all night and refuse to be comforted except by nursing, which kills any chance for a good night’s sleep for me, which in turn makes me cranky and impatient and not up to the demands of motherhood. The book’s suggestions did not seem to apply, but it did get us thinking that perhaps spending some time observing and charting his sleep patterns would give us a better idea what we did need to do, so we’re starting there. We’ll see what happens next.
Ack! That's rough when they are not sleeping well. I hope you find a solution that works and soon! I'd tell you what we did, but who knows if that translates to another baby? Haha. They are all so different.
ReplyDeleteWe had similar issues with Toby. How old is Tiernan? I got Toby off nursing at night around 9 months by gradually decreasing the amount of time I would allow him to nurse. Once we got down to just a few minutes, I stopped altogether and Jonathan went to him at night. It only took a few nights of that for him to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious...what book did you read? I found "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" and "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" helpful, but I used them more as a source of ideas than a "how-to" manual.
HSH, HC that Steph mentioned, i found/still find very helpful.
ReplyDeleteTiernan is 9 months. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" was the book I just tried...it sounded great when I started, but Tiernan just doesn't seem to fit.
ReplyDeleteSo, they (HSH,HC) say that good naps are key to a good night's sleep...except Sunday night, after two short naps in the car as we gallivanted about the countryside, he slept relatively well, only waking twice. Yesterday, we stayed home and he took two good, long solid naps, and he woke up five times during the night. Go figure?
ReplyDeleteEvery kid is so different!
ReplyDeleteFor us, there is a thing as too little nap and a thing as too much napping. It is finding a balance. Just like there is a thing as too early to go down to sleep and a thing as too late to go down to sleep. What is the elusive balance? Trial and error, and consistency with whatever you decide to try.
Good Luck. I know wake ups are hard.
Yup, they are all different - for us, consistency is key. If they start napping or going to bed at different times every day it gets nuts! Keeping their naps exactly the same time (of course with flexibility as they go through different stages) really seems to help.
ReplyDelete