Tuesday, December 2, 2008

LeAnne & Sleeping - Prayers/Wisdom appreciated!

It's going on week 2 or 3 that LeAnne has been having issues with sleeping. Well I take that back it's just a new issue, she's NEVER been the best sleeper. Did I make the mistake of rocking my girl to sleep? We get her asleep then the second we pick her up from our chests or lay her down she wakes up SCREAMING! It's worse for her naps. We've let her scream up to an hour and it doesn't seem to help at all. I don't want to let her scream all day long. I've heard of giving them like 10 minutes then going into soothe them and walking out but for her I don't see how that will work because if we go in there all she wants is OUT of the crib and into our arms. I think that would just prolong the process. I am willing try for a bit on this first nap of the day and then give up on that nap if she won't go down but she still needs at least one nap a day right? I know by giving into her screaming she wins but I can't listen to her scream and scream and scream. It breaks my heart! At the same time I know I need to teach her how to soothe herself to sleep but how do I do that? I feel like I've done something wrong. How do I make it better for our girl? Poor grandma Marcia too! She's trying everything and it's not working. UGH! I know we can't rock and/or hold her while she's sleeping forever but how do teach her? She's not sleeping as good at night again either. She's up once and then not sleeping on. I tell ya our little girl is high maintenance!

If you have any suggestions please share in detail. Also I'd appreciate your prayers! Well I must go give our girl some breakfast before I go to work.

1 comment:

Melody said...

Ugh....sleep stuggles : (

I don't know that I have a whole lot of advice to give you, but I can certainly sympathize with you. Norah is not a great sleeper either. Naps aren't too much of a problem, but she is still waking at least once at night. Although (knock on wood) this week has been better.

With my first baby, I was a big into letting him CIO (cry it out). It worked for him. He took to it quickly, and was a good sleeper pretty much from the get go. Before I had my second I questioned why everyone does not use this method. Then I had Norah. Sweet, stubborn Norah. Crying it out really doesn't work for her. Also, it just really doesn't matter to me as much as it did with my first. She will EVENTUALLY sleep through the night. For now I am just trying to enjoy my quiet moments in the night with her.

You didn't do anything wrong by rocking your baby to sleep. It may make transition her into an independent sleeper a little more challenging, but loving and comforting your baby is never a bad thing! Crying it out is a tough thing, and it's really a personal choice based on your comfort level. I really do believe that some babies are more persistent than others. Decide what your comfort level is as far as CIO and come up plan. Stick with that plan for 3 days and see if you've made any progress. Being consistent is so hard, especially when you are exhausted, but that is a big key.

You are a good mama! She will sleep eventually : ) Know you are not alone!