But it's a slippery slope relying on naps to set the mood of the day.
Unfortunately we have been having some napping woes over here. Ben is doing great. I can count on a two hour nap pretty much every day 12:30-2:30. Eleanor, on the other hand, is struggling. She does a series of short 30 minute naps about every two hours during the day. In the morning this is okay, she's still in a good mood, I'm not yet exhausted. I'm sipping coffee. But by the afternoon, it's bad.
By the afternoon I'm starting to feel annoyed that I haven't been able to get a single thing done all day. My coffee has worn off and I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted because Eleanor still eats twice a night and Ben is up at 6am and bad naps mean I can't rest and catch up. And worse, by the afternoon on a day like this, Eleanor is no longer happy and wide awake. Now she's clingy, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Boo!
I'm not sure how to fix this problem. I do nurse her before naps but she's usually awake when I lay her down. She has no trouble putting herself to sleep. I've tried everything! More or less white noise, dressing her warmer or cooler, putting her in the crib vs swing, wrapping her in a sleep sack. Blah!
The doctor said 30 min is the length of one short sleep cycle. She's waking up and not being able to go back to sleep. she was hoping the reflux medicine and not being uncomfortable would help. She is eating better and doesn't seem to be bothered by her tummy much anymore. Maybe once a week she takes a long morning nap. Usually she takes an hour afternoon nap, but not everyday.
I hate the thought of "cry it out," but we might be there. Otherwise I might lose it real soon! It wouldn't be as bad if we weren't woken up by Ben each morning at 6 (sometimes earlier!!). I know this is just a stage, but I feel like I almost wish I could go to work and get a break! Ugh and I hate feeling like that!
So that was a loooooong way to explain how when you stay home with littles, not getting enough sleep/any breaks can really be exhausting mentally and emotionally!
Rant over. Advice welcome. :)
1 comment:
Alex used to wake us up at 5:15 until we bought a clock that tells him when it's time to wake up. It glows yellow before the time we set and turns green when it's "morning" according to us. He can wake up earlier, but needs to play quietly in his room until his clock is green. This has helped enormously when it's light out at 5:30 or 6 in the morning and he can't gauge time by how dark it is outside anymore. It's given us at least another hour of rest in the mornings. This won't help with the baby not sleeping, but might give you a chance to start the day a little later.
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