Tabitha normally sleeps very well, she normally sleeps from about 9:30 pm-7:30 am. But recently she has been a bit more disturbed in her sleep. I think its a combination of her stomach getting used to solid food, the fact that she takes after me and Coyote in how lightly she sleeps (very very lightly!), she's started occasionally having nightmares or night terrors and the stinky cold that she got a couple of days ago.
Soooo...
4 am last night Tabitha starts crying, my guess is that her bunged up nose woke her up. My first response, I have to admit, is to lie still and hope she will just settle back into sleep on her own (she occasionally does) after 5 minutes of crying I realize that it's not going to happen. so i sit up, turn on the light, pick her up and start feeding her. She is really hungry/thirsty, so after 30 minutes of feeding shes starting to drop off to sleep, she stops latching. Fantastic! I might be able to get back to sleep soon! (Coyote is already snoring). I gently put her down in her cot...but not gently enough...she opens her eyes again...
I quickly turn out the light and hope that she'll go back to sleep...
5 minutes later she starts crying again...so i pick her up again. Maybe her throat hurts? she does have a cold. I should give her some Calpol, it will make her feel better (and incidentally try to quiet the little voice in my head that says i'm only giving her Calpol because it has a sedative effect on small babies and that makes me a terrible mother) I get Coyote to hand me the Calpol and give her a full dose and another feed (he starts snoring again about 30 seconds after passing it to me). She is now very much awake and looking around for someone/something to play with. She also has no more interest in milk...perhaps if i put her down in her cot with the light on, she will quietly play by herself with her blankie mouse and go back to sleep! (please, please god)...
so, after another 10 minutes Tabitha has decided that she is now bored, and actually does want more food, so starts yelling for attention (not crying any more, but that is on the horizon, and its best to get her relaxed before the really upset feelings start) so I pick her up again...me and Coyote are starting to get desperate, we have a conversation about letting Tabitha get into bed with us, which guarantees that she'll go back to sleep, but means that either me or him won't be able to sleep properly for the rest of the night (not that there is much of it left at this point). I think that we should give it one last try....Tabitha is now hungry (or she just really wants a big cuddle) so she has another feed, and starts to drift off to sleep! (so do I nearly, I am so tired by now) She is now asleep...but she's still feeding...or is she just reflexively sucking...I can't decide...if I try to gently get my nipple out of her mouth and she hasn't done feeding, she will wake up. but if she's just sucking, then she'll stay asleep...I take a gamble...and YES! she stays asleep...and I gently lower her into her cot...her eyes open! oh god! she's not fully asleep! But I turn out the light anyway, and lie there for the next half hour just waiting for the sound of crying. I can't go back to sleep, I'm too on edge. Baby cries are just jolts of adrenaline straight into your brain putting me on edge...but after cuddling up to Coyote I finally relax enough to go back to sleep.
Luckily she then slept soundly till 9 am. Poor Coyote had to get up to go to work...And this is why we are now feeling like Zombies today. I love my little one so very very much...but some nights I would happily hire a babysitter just so I could get some sleep!
(its a good thing that shes so cute)
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