i am having a rough day. make that weeks. everyday is a constant battle to get Jovie to nap. i have tried everything. i have nursed her to sleep, rocked her to sleep, held her for naps, patted her back while she was laying down, given her a lovie, given her a blanket, tried keeping her on a strict schedule, propped her up, laid her on her back, laid her on her tummy, let her cry it out, let her really cry it out & driven her around in the car. i can. not. win. i'm telling you, its SO incredibly frustrating.
i know she is only 5 months old & that these things are usually only temporary. but right now, it feels eternal. please, just let me vent. if you have kids, you probably understand in some way how this can be so hard. if you don't have kids, just keep on living, you will most likely face this at some point. having a child is an enormous blessing, but sometimes the little things, like nap time, can give you a head full of gray hair, high blood pressure & a desperate need to pig out on an entire tub of chocolate ice cream. (which i haven't done yet, but only b/c i'm out of ice cream!)
its so strange. Jovie does AMAZING at night. i can lay her down completely awake & she will fall asleep on her own, sleep 10+ hours & wake up smiling & cooing. but during the day, it is a down right battle of epic proportions. i try laying her down when i notice that she is drowsy or fussy b/c she is tired. and i know that she honestly wants to sleep. but she fights it. hard core. i let her fuss (going in her room every 10 minutes to give a paci or pat her back) for 45 minutes & she is content to just scream. sometimes, she will fall asleep. only to wake 30-45 minutes later. again, screaming her head off. and sometimes, but rarely, she will sleep 2+ hours. what in the world?! i know she is exhausted. and usually after a good round of blood curdling screams, she'll spit up so much its ridiculous. and then nap time is officially over. i hate hearing her fuss like that. its heartbreaking. but i don't know what else to do. her reflux has been the thorn in my flesh. it has made EVERYTHING so hard. the cry it out (CIO) method worked so well for Jack. it took him 5 days & then he put himself to sleep every time, no problem. its so funny how some things work for 1 baby but not the next. story of my life.
Jovie really is a good baby. when she is awake, she is so happy & content. she can entertain herself or watch Jack all day. she is great in the car & out in public. but when nap time comes, she is miserable. and i just can't understand. i'm trying SO very hard to have a good positive & thankful attitude. i know i am so blessed with 2 healthy babies when others are struggling to have a child. i am thankful for these times b/c the Lord is constantly teaching me & pruning me to be more like Him. but i'm telling you, i am at wit's end. i need the Lord to help me. i need Jovie to nap. she needs it so desperately. she gets bags under her eyes & she dozes off & on all day long as she is playing or being held. i just don't know what else to do!!
any suggestions, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. please please please, pray for Jovie to begin napping well & pray for me to have the patience of Job as she is learning. i love my girl & i want her to have peaceful days where she isn't 100% exhausted.
i'm off to soothe my screaming baby & search for some chocolate.......
3 comments:
Sorry you're frustrated! I am not a mom yet, but people have given me sleep advice recently. You may be doing all this, but they said make sure the room is dark, use a noise machine and swaddle until 6 months. Or just eat chocolate ice cream! That would make me feel better. I will pray she becomes an expert napper!
Oh Audrey. I have no expert advice, but I have walked in your shoes and wanted to tell you that you aren't alone in this struggle. Drew was the exact same way. Nighttime usually wasn't tough, but naptime....I DREADED it every day. We tried CIO between 5-6 months because I was at my wit's end. We tried CIO for 3 weeks because I had friends who continually reassured me it would eventually work and be worth the crying. I kid you not he cried approximately 21 hours a week for 3 weeks simply over naptime. When I realized that, I quit. It wasn't getting any better. I finally read something that made sense to me: Some kids cry to release tension and then fall asleep (Jack, maybe?) while others cry and build UP tension! THAT was Drew. His crying RARELY got better during a session of CIO--only worse--to the point of being hoarse or gagging. I say that to tell you that if CIO continues not to work, take heart that it just might not be Jovie's cup of tea. It works for so many babies, but apparently they RELEASE tension with crying. ;) I wish I now had the magic cure to tell you what finally worked for us. I don't. :( He finally started sleeping well at around 9-10 months old. I'm sure that seems like an eternity away for you right now. But hang in there. This too shall pass! And if you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm right here!
Both of my girls have been good nappers. Here's what I did/do: Nurse and change their diaper afterward to wake them up- in case they fell asleep while nursing. Then, keep them awake for at least an hour (if you keep track of when she eats, you could try to put her to bed 1.5 hours after she eats). When that 1-1.5 hour window rolls around, I change diaper again, swaddle, sing a song while cuddling baby. Then, when I notice her starting off, yawning, and her eyes getting heavy, that's when I put her in her bassinet. It works great for us. But I know that every child is different.
Abigail had GERD, like your Jovie, and it was very difficult, but it actually didn't affected her sleep. So sorry for you guys. GERD tends to get better when baby can sit up on her own.
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