The Daddy pointed out today that Baby Girl's name means "awakening" in Hawaiian. I already knew that, but it finally clicked. We intended the meaning to refer to more of a spiritual awakening. However, we suppose it is quite fitting that she wakes up at least 2-3 times every night. And her naps are very short. She is good at "awakening." So I decided to find out how to say "sleep" in Hawaiian. The website I found gave me "moe moe" as the translation. I guess we'll stick with Alana, it is more elegant.
I've decided that it is time for night-weaning. I know that means no more precious middle-of-the-night cuddle sessions with my nursling, but I am actually ok with giving those up if it means I can get 5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a few weeks. I know it will likely take some time to wean her from needing to eat at night (the last few nights have convinced me that it's time...she's been waking up every 2-3 hours acting hungry. Last night I just put my headphones on and listened to "A Child's Prayer" while she cried, because I can't force myself to ignore her cries when I can hear them. Eventually I got so tired (2 am ish) that I took the headphones off and fell asleep. The baby Girl didn't wake me up again until 4:22. Then I fed her, since it had been 5 1/2 hours.
I keep trying to blame teething for her poor sleep habits. The thing is that she'll do really well for a few night (like 6+ hours straight) and so I get my hopes up. I'm starting to wonder if some of the solids I feed her aren't agreeing with her. Is she having digestion problems? Does her little tummy ache? She's been pulling her ear a lot lately, but I'm convinced it isn't an ear infection. Maybe the problem is that I read too much.
She's also been especially fussy during the day the past couple days. I don't know what to think, but it's exhausting when I'm up most of the night and then she won't let me put her down during the day without screaming. Yet more reason to doubt my ability as a parent. Sometimes I think I must be doing something wrong.
5 comments:
Yes, I know what you mean when you say you're up most of the night and can't put your baby down during the day without her crying! I can't make myself a sandwich without my baby crying and wanting to be held or fed. And I can't bear to lie in bed and listen to him "cry it out" (he usually just cries more intensely and I gave in after about 3 minutes and picked him up). Hooray for adorable babies!
Hello! Wow, that sounds just like what I am going through. Andrea is really good a lot of the time with sleeping, but recently she has been waking up 2-3 times a night for me to feed her. Also lately, she has been very very unhappy when I try to lay her down during the day to take a nap or even if I try to put her in her swing so I can get something, anything, done during the day. It has been very difficult lately. I pray this soon will pass. Good luck with your little one! She is so beautiful! Let me know if she continues to sleep through the night since what you have been doing (are you letting her cry it out or something else? I would like to try whatever you are doing in another month or two if this continues with Andrea). Thanks and have a great Sabbath day!
Hey! I know you feel about being exhausted all the time-Isaac had a lot of days like that. While your sleep is important...I'll tell you what I did with weaning Isaac. I actually nursed him every time he woke up at night. (that was probably easier for me than you because he slept with us for aboutt he first 10-11 months so I just had to roll over instead of gt up). I weaned him from nursing during the day first-it was incredibly hard to get him to go to sleep during the night without nursing. (I didn't start weaning until he was about 13 months-before that the solids just naturally replaced some feedings). It is possible that she's teething or has an upset stomach at night. My best remedy for teething-Teething Tablets. They're only sold at Wal-Mart in the baby isle by the baby toothbrushes, lanolin cream, etc. I love them and so does Isaac. Pulling on her ear may not really indicate an ear ifection-Isaac still pulls on his ears when he's really tired. He's done that since he was only a couple moths old. Anyways...good luck with what you choose will be best for you and litte Alana. As I'm sure you're doing-make it a matter of prayer (if it's important to you, it's certainly important to Heavenly Father and He's always happy to help His children!). Good luck! :)
I went through it too. I'd like to offer advice but I seriously can't remember what I did with Kaden. I think it's one of those things where your memory is purposefully erased so that you will have more children. It's like those memories have to be erased or no sane person would go through it twice... or 5 times or whatever. Of course maybe I don't remember it because I was half asleep the entire time. :)
Crystal,
Don't worry! Many babies do the same thing! She'll grow out of it eventually. I remember being so frustrated because Jacob did the same thing. He's so independent now! It's wonderful! I only wish he would let me hold him a little bit more these days!
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