Is This Normal?
I miss my tiny little newborn. Most people can't wait to get out of the newborn stage with their kids because of the lack of sleep/round the clock feedings. But not me, I miss it. Now don't get me wrong, I *love* this stage Little M is in. She loves to just sit and play all day, she gives us big smiles and laughs, she's on a more normal feeding schedule, and she just gets cuter and cuter every day. But I miss the sleep of my newborn. What you say?? Sleep and newborns do not normally go together, but they did with mine! Little M slept through the night pretty much from the start. My doctor practically made fun of my because I was waking her up during the night the first week to feed her. She could be put in her bed for the night with no trouble at 7:30 or 8 and we wouldn't hear another peep out of her until 7 am. It was *glorious*. I thought I was the best mom ever! I was well-rested and had time during my day to get things done. Life was fabulous.
However, something changed around month 5 or 6. Little M started waking up earlier and earlier. She also was more tired at night and had to go to bed earlier. Now she goes to bed at 7 and is awake between 5 and 5:30 am. It's sad just how wonderful a 6 or 6:30 am wake-up sounds to me!
I am just wondering if this is normal. Do other babies go to bed and wake up around this time? Is there anything I can do to make her sleep later? {I've tried keeping her room really dark, not automatically feeding her as soon as she wakes up, letting her cry for a few minutes, and trying to rock her back to sleep} Will she be like this forever, or will she eventually sleep a little bit later {sometime before she's a teenager I mean!}. Should I try and keep her up a little bit later at night? She's finally getting a good nap schedule, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both about an hour long, so that can't be throwing her off. I'm not looking for a baby to sleep till 12, just 6:30 please! {or at least just not like last night where I went to bed late, totally my own fault I know, and then Little M woke up at 3:30 because she was hungry...she went back down at 4 and proceeded to wake up at 5. We've been up ever since....not a good start to the day} Let me know if you have any advice!
Hey Mandy, I'm no sleep expert, that's for sure, but we dealt with our share of sleep issues, and I've read a bunch of books, etc. One book that I think is super helpful, though you always have to read anything using your own head and mommy sensibility, is _Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child_. Its a good reference-type book, the kind of thing I would flip to when I had questions, etc. which is nice because you don't feel like you have to read the whole thing to get to what is relevant to you.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought - have you tried bringing her into bed with you when she gets up so early? I'm not sure if it would work or not, but it's worth a try, just for that early morning bit. I wouldn't worry too much about creating habits right now, because what you really need is sleep, not matter how you have to get it.
Good Luck!
--Campbell
Bless your heart. Sounds like you've come up with some good suggestions yourself. Trying to keep her up later or even skipping nap time may help.
ReplyDeleteMy firstborn wouldn't go to sleep at all until he wore ME out. It was the most frustrating thing for me. I rocked him, walked him, fed him, gave him warm baths and it just didn't work. He went to sleep when he was good and ready.
Mandy, my boys have NEVER slept in until recently and sleeping in is about 9:30 for my 13 year old. I awake at 4:30-5:00 a.m. every morning just to get some alone/meditation time before I begin my day.
Take one day at a time and let your motherly instincts lead you.