This morning got off to what I’m going to call a rough start. And in my mind that’s mild for what I would actually like to call it. Because really? If I could’ve gone back to bed for a do-over, I would’ve.
My toddler? Does not sleep through the night. And when he wakes up crying, it’s a full-on cry like something’s wrong. He’s not manipulating me or crying out for me or making unreasonable toddler demands in the middle of the night. It is the cry of fear or pain or both. And so we go to him. In part because we practice many facets of attachment parenting and in part because WE ARE HIS PARENTS and it’s our duty as such to be there for him when he needs us.
I know the doctor is going to yell at me about this next week when I take him for his 2 year visit and I’m going to leave there feeling like a pile of poopsandwich because, not only does my child NOT sleep, I’ve just been lectured on it. And he’ll get shots. Awesome.
Anyway, this morning.
I went to bed at 11:00 last night and couldn’t fall asleep and at 11:50, Joshua started crying. So I took that one.
At 3:30, (or was it 4:30??) he was awake again. Only Dan took this shift. Thank God.
And at 5:00?
Yep. Crying again.
::sigh::
I shouldn’t have laid back down when he woke up at 5:00. I should’ve just gotten up and started the day. I know that would’ve been the wiser decision to make. But it’s not the one I made.
Bonehead move, that one.
Today? Let’s just say that today I’m thankful for two things.
Jeans day, where I paid $2 to wear jeans that I grabbed FROM THE DIRTY CLOTHES, courtesy of Special Olympics fundraising here at the school.
And dry shampoo.
What is dry shampoo? I think I must have some!
It is my new BFF. I have a post coming about how much I love this stuff. It’s that awesome.
I feel for you. My son has been sick for about a week now, and that means no sleep. Last night, I’m pretty sure that his wake up cries were because he was used to me getting him when he was sick. So now he cries for me to come.
And so last night, with all the crying, I got really frustrated. He managed to cry every time I had just fallen asleep. (This was actually the second night in a row this happened). So yeah. Tired. I know all about that.
I don’t know what to say about going to get your son as soon as he cries at night. I completely support a Mama’s decision to do that. I wanted to do that. But at nine months, he was waking up every hour of the night, and it was only me who got him.
So yes, we sleep trained. And it worked.
And yes, I let him cry last night. Because I was too frustrated and tired to even go and comfort him after a while. So you may be a tired Mama, but at least you’re a good Mama!
We sleep trained when he was about 6 months old. Then? I was okay with it. But as he’s grown and developed a personality and knows me, I just can’t do it. It’s hard, but I can’t let him think no one’s coming. I understand why some people feel compelled to CIO, but I just know it’s not for us.
Oh geez, sorry your day got off to such a crappy start.
Don’t let your doctor lecture you on baby not sleeping through the night. Don’t even tell the doctor!! Get some Coffee
I just know they’ll ask, so I’ll feel compelled to disclose the truth. I’m all self-flagellating like that.
Our morning was rough too. I so wish my kids could just GET that mom doesn’t feel good and can’t they just get along and be good! Is that too much to ask??
I wear dirty jeans all the time. For free! 🙂
Hope the rest of your day is stellar!!
This is not the first time I’ve worn dirty jeans. I won’t even pretend like it is.
Hugs to you. My daughter is over 3 and still wakes up usually once a night about 5 or 6 nights a week. My son seems to be falling into the same pattern. We actually did do some (modified) CIO with them both at different times, and it does not make a difference. So no judgement, just hugs and sympathy and I wish I had a do-over machine for you.
You shouldn’t have to feel bad about going to the doctor. Maybe that doctor is not so much for yall if they lecture you! I’m not saying find someone that tells you what you wanna hear, but if that works for yall do it. My kid is 5. And seriously we have spurts where she ends up coming to our bed at like 3 or 4am or who knows what time in the morning bc I’m tired and I just don’t care so I let her get in.
Um, what’s wrong with wearing jeans out of the dirty pile?
Well, if I had known we were all up we could have partied! But in all seriousness, that sucks. And if he’s up tonight, you can just call me, because I know I’ll be up, too.
So, really, the doctor thing has me worried. I don’t know your doctor, but already I don’t like your doctor. Lecturing? It does nobody any good AT ALL. Please change doctors and go see ours. She is awesome. Three kids, five years, a slew of “different” parenting choices (or normal ones…you decide) and she has never batted an eyelash. She’s even encouraged me numerous times when I was feeling a lot like you, and I think that’s an important attribute to have when you’re in such an important role.
::hugs::
I shouldn’t have said lecturing. That’s not what she does. She just sort of gently assures me that it’s okay for him to fuss or cry a little bit. But she is always okay with me saying that I’m not okay with that. It just feels like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine wants to know what the doctor are writing in her chart. I don’t want mine to say “crazy sleep deprived mother” or something ridiculous.
I totally get you on this one. Except for the dry shampoo which I really need to hear about now.
I have a philosophy about the cry thing too. I can pretty much tell if it’s a fake cry of “mom, I’m in here by myself and you should come in and entertain me” or if it’s a “mom! I need help! Get your butt in here NOW!” I now ignore the fake cries, but I always go for the necessary ones. It’s always a hard call and I usually go anyway if I’m not sure. We also got a bit of a talking to about letting Darling Girl cry a little and it would be ok at her 2 year appointment. She’s 2 1/2 now and I still go in to her room when she needs me. So you can tell that I listened.
After the discussion I had with Lauren (@unxpctdblessing) on Twitter last weekend, we broke down and went looking for something to help DG sleep. She was taking 2+ hours to go to sleep and often waking at least twice. I was losing my mind. We got some of the Hyland’s Calms Forte for Kids. This is night 3 of trying it and so far (knocks on wood), it rocks my socks. She’s settling down better in the evenings, going to bed without the world’s biggest tantrum, and she’s sleeping better through the night. I can keep you posted on how it continues to work for us if you want. I’m very hopeful though.
And now my book is done! 😉
oh hey! we had one of those days this morning!
oops!
Boy! How I dont miss those days. Mine use to wake up and want to crawl into our bed. But at 6 years of age my husband wouldnt hear of it. So my husband said they could stay in our room but need to stand by the wall no laying down. It worked only a few nights of them trying to sleep standing up. They finally stopped coming to our room. Know I get to stay awake until my 17 year old comes home for the night usually midnight. Good luck with the sleepless nights. Thank god for a cup or 3 of coffee.