Thursday, September 25, 2008

Do 2-year-olds Dream Of Baby Sheep?

It's been a busy week to say the least. I can't remember much of Monday, except that B was on call. He had a few patients in labor that evening, so V and I went to the hospital to have dinner with him. Apparently, the hospital's cafeteria closes around 7:00 pm, and we got there after that, so dinner ended up being McDonald's that V and I grabbed and brought back for B. Luckily, B was able to come home to sleep that evening, and he didn't have a very busy morning. With B home and post call on Tuesday, we decided to grab lunch to go from a local deli and took it to a park. V wanted to play rather than eat, which was fine because the park's playground was just spectacular. On Tuesday evening, I carpooled with some of the moms in my play group to another mom's house for a great homemade Greek dinner. We all had such a lovely evening, since it was the first time that many of us were able to talk to each other without having to chase after little ones, too! I got home around 10:30 pm, only to find that V was still awake. So, we both ended up going to bed late that night. I spent yesterday in a flurry trying to get the house in order and dinner ready for our weekly board gaming group. B decided it was the perfect time for us to start hosting everyone at our house. We have enough chairs with our new kitchenette set now, and we were able to get everyone (including V and our friends' two sons) around our dining room table. I made two lasagnas, garlic bread, salad (from a bag), and chocolate caramel brownies. Everything turned out great, and I'm so glad I made two lasagnas, because I think most people had seconds. There's enough left over for dinner tonight, so I don't have to cook again! Yay! Once dinner was over, everyone else started setting a board game up in the dining room, and I tried to get V settled and asleep. However, he was so interested in everyone being at our house, especially the two other boys, and he wanted to play the game soooo much, I had a hard time trying to get him sleepy. In fact, after everyone left around 11:30 pm or so, V was still awake. And, he was still awake after midnight. We have a queen-sized air mattress set up on the floor of V's bedroom because I've been trying to help him transition into his new room. Most nights, he starts out in his own bed, and I either sleep in my bed or on the air mattress. He usually wakes up in the middle of the night and tries to discover where I may be sleeping. If I'm in my bed, I take him back to his room, and we sleep on the air mattress. If I'm on the air mattress, he joins me. Last night, he fell asleep at one point, and I tried to put him in his bed, only to have him sit up wide awake and start screaming! So, we both ended up on the air mattress. I'm really getting tired of our whole sleep situation. It would be different if V would sleep through the night, even with someone else in bed with him. However, he doesn't, and I always wake up at some point in the early morning hours, either because of him running to our bed, or because of him rolling around on the air mattress, kicking me, rolling practically on top of me, or pretty much pushing me to the edge. Ever since we started this transition thing, it's been stressful for me. I'm ready for him to sleep on his own, and he really needs to start doing it because I don't plan on having him in bed with us when he starts Kindergarten in a few years. Also, when the next baby decides to come along, I really hope we can get him/her to sleep in the crib, so we don't start the cycle all over again. I don't have anything against co-sleeping. People do it all over the world, and it really helped when I was breastfeeding. However, now that V is bigger and stronger, and especially since he seems so restless while he sleeps, it's been a lot tougher for me to sleep as well. All week, it seems we've been getting up at 8:30 am or later. To me, that's really late, and I feel like our morning is half over by then. I think part of the problem is the fact that we really don't have a set bedtime routine. I pretty much rock V to sleep when he seems tired, and that's it. Maybe if we started something like a set bath time and story time before rocking, V's internal clock will set itself earlier and maybe he'll finally sleep on his own. I've been putting off a bedtime routine mostly because B's work schedule is so erratic, and I want him to be a part of the parenting stuff as much as possible. However, this may be another thing I'll have to start doing myself. I'm waiting for our insurance to kick in too, before talking to a pediatrician about V's sleep habits. I'm really more worried about the fact that he just doesn't sleep through the night, and I wonder if he has any allergies we could be missing that are causing him to wake up. Or, it could be new teeth coming in or his ears, which also should be looked at again soon. Really, it could be anything. I'm just hoping we discover the cause or come up with some kind of solution, so my baby can start getting some real sleep. And, so his momma can get some sleep, too!

4 comments:

Glass of Whine said...

I am going to email you later about some things I have read and some things I have heard from other moms. It may take me a couple of days, just fyi. I don't want you to think I am forgetting. :)

Hang in there! You are doing a great job!!! :)

Amanda C. said...

Thanks so much. I need all the help I can get! I probably should have done the let-him-cry-it-out thing a long time ago, but V is one of those kids who cries FOREVER and never seems to wear down. And, no hurry on the e-mail. I totally understand. I'm just looking forward to any advice anyone has on the subject. Thanks for being such an awesome friend (and mommy!).

Momma Bear said...

Hey I'm sorry it's so difficult! I don't have a lot to say b/c I've not had this problem-yet. But I wonder if getting him in a bedtime routine would help. And some sort of reward system set up, perhaps the nanny books-she's big on reward systems. I don't know how you feel about him screaming, if you can deal with it at times. But sometimes letting them cry it out at times and going in and checking on him at different points. He's a toddler now and so honestly I don't have any experience with this. Hopefully Kristin will have some thoughts!
Hang in there lady!! I find that transitions are get harder before they get easier. If you need an ear to vent (or cry) to please shoot me a call or an email.
-Beth

Amanda C. said...

Thanks for the advice, Beth! I hope you never have to experience what we've been through lately. I really hope it starts getting better soon. I'll definitely email you if I ever need lots of help! ;)