Saturday, February 6, 2010

Day 19: So frustrated!

I don't know if it's our two-day trip still messing things up, but what little predictability Mari ever had has gone out the window. She woke up an hour later than usual and only had a one-hour nap in the morning (usually that's the longest nap; I aim for an hour and a half). I initially thought the early-afternoon nap was a triumph, because for once I managed to get her to fall asleep in her crib without first rocking her to the eyes-closed-and-nearly-asleep stage. But then she woke up after only a half hour and kept waking up still cranky. I ended up holding her for most of the one hour, 45 minute nap.

We went for a walk and came home shortly before 5 PM (all her usual naptimes were shifted forward today). I started her naptime routine immediately. But she would just NOT fall asleep, no matter what I did. She didn't want to be rocked. She didn't want to be put down. Nursing wouldn't calm her down. Trying to co-nap didn't work. Finally in desperation I asked Jon to take over and put her down for real, not just for a nap, since it was well after 6 PM by this point.

Jon took her and I went downstairs to get something to eat. After awhile, I heard her crying and I remembered I'd left something I needed in her room. So I very quickly finished my meal (I had just a few bites left) and ran upstairs to get it, thinking I should enter her room before she fell asleep. But by the time I opened the door, she was already asleep in Jon's arms. When I went in, it woke her up. And she screamed. Jon, of course, was furious. I felt like dirt.

Now she's been waking up every half-hour or so again. I know she got screwed up by missing her late-afternoon nap, but I don't know what I could have done to prevent that. We were home in plenty of time to get her asleep, and she didn't seem overtired. So why wouldn't she fall asleep? She was clearly tired.

Sigh... I'm so tired of this. I want her to sleep, and stay asleep!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, Karen. I'm sorry you're feeling so tired and frustrated. My mom and I were talking about sleep the other day and she said "Those people who have 6 month olds who sleep on a perfect schedule? That's not about them. Their babies came that way. Unless, of course, they're the kind of people who are so rigid that they're putting the baby down for a nap from two to four, and if the kid screams the whole time, so be it."

    Mom and I disagree about a lot of things, but I think she's right on this one. Mari's sleep is not a reflection of whether or not you are a good parent. It's partly a reflection of her temperament. I know that's not a lot of help when you just want to sleep yourself, but please try and give yourself a break.

    It seems like forever now, but in the scheme of her lifetime, this sleep-disrupted period is very short. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. :)

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  2. Yeah, I do figure your mom is right to a large extent, but I can't keep blaming Mari's sleep problems on her temperament forever. Good luck to you and Jake too!

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