Part [n] in the sleep documentation series:
For more than a week, Valerie entertained us by not just waking multiple times throughout the night, but also by staying awake for an hour and a half. It didn't matter who went in to her, whether she nursed or not, she just would not go back to sleep. After a couple nights I noticed that, pretty consistently, this was happening 8 hours after she first fell asleep.
So we pulled another trick from the Baby Whisperer book (although Pantley writes about this too): evidently if you anticipate this kind of consistent waking, you can nip it in the bud. What you do is set your alarm for 30-60 minutes before the baby's waking time, go in and wake her up gently (it doesn't even have to be all the way awake), then let her go back to sleep. Do this three nights in a row, and bob's your uncle.
IT WORKED. Freaky.
She still isn't sleeping through the night consistently again yet, and I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep again after I wake her to sleep, but I still prefer gently picking her up, nursing her for 20-30 minutes and returning her to her bed over pulling my hair out as she sits up going "bababababa" in the darkened room.
Thus she has earned a name for her night-waking alter ego: SOULCRUSHER. Babycakes by day, Soulcrusher by night. They look eerily alike, and you never see them in the same place at the same time! It's a mystery to me!
2 comments:
Awesome trick--waking her up and letting her go back to sleep so she doesn't wake up on her own. I'm filing that one away, I'm sure I'll have need of it one of these days! I love reading your blog, especially as our babies keep changing at the same time. Anna isn't saying any words yet, but in the last few weeks that strong will has started to emerge, I have a much harder time distracting her, and she's climbing and reaching places she couldn't get before. Fun stuff ahead for both of us! Valerie is looking SO adorable.
Since you came out of lurkdom on my blog, I figured I should see what you're writing. I love the comment "bob's your uncle" since we lived in England for several years. Sounds like you've got a full and interesting plate.
Post a Comment