First of all, I have no idea why I am naming my entries what I am the past two days. Well, yes, I do. I think it is called sleep deprived. Gee, I can’t even think of the word. You know that word when you are wacky from lack of sleep?
Well, it will probably come to me by the time I’m done writing.
We took Caroline to the doctor today for her four month appointment. She was so good for the doctor and we could tell he enjoyed her. We then turned her over to the torturers nurses for her shots. The first time she had her shots (at two months) it didn’t bother me at all. I actually felt kind of bad it didn’t bother me since I hear all these stories about moms crying when their babies get shots. But I was able to steel my heart and emotions, distancing myself from it so I didn’t get emotional.
Well, today I got weepy so I guess that makes me a good mom now. 😉
Caroline was a trooper. She screamed briefly when the pain hit, cried hard briefly, and then was pretty fine. The nurses said she did better than most babies.
That’s my girl.
We also learned that she is no longer in the 90th percentile in her length. She’s 97+%. Yeesh. I can hear the college basketball recruits calling already. It truly would be ironic if she ended up playing basketball because as much as I love watching college men’s basketball I find women playing basketball one of the most boring sports known to man. It ranks right up there with golf and NASCAR. (Oh, I can see the flaming coming already! I’ve insulted three sports groups!) She’s also in the 95% in her head circumference so that brain must be growing quite well. Hmmm… Maybe basketball at a top tier school? Just kidding. I truly don’t wish that for her at all. I’m just trying to generate lots of controversial comments. 😀
Ok, about the sleep deprivation…
Caroline is four months old. She is not sleeping through the night. I sent one of my friends an email this morning that was a desperate cry for help. David and I are starting to really feel the lack of sleep. I mean, really feel it. Like it is starting to get a little a lot depressing. (And, please… if your child did not sleep through the night until 18 or 24 months, DO NOT leave a comment telling me about it. I really can’t hack it right now.) We talked with the doctor about it today and he said she probably needs more calories because she’s a big girl. (Although her weight is only 80% so she’s not chunky, just nice.) Anyhoo, we’re going to start her on rice cereal this week and put her to bed an hour later and see if we might — MIGHT — be able to get six hours of uninterrupted sleep. I’m not even shooting for ten to eleven here, folks. I’d be THRILLED with six at this point.
So, anyone want to share their silver bullet story of how they got their child to sleep through the night? Beyond practicing the eat/play/sleep cycle which we have been doing near religiously for the past four months?
And about Tarjay…
I’m not a fan of consumerism and mass marketing, but you have to really love Tarjay. Good quality stuff for reasonable prices. You can get almost anything there. And I never feel cheap or dirty afterwards like I do if I go to Walmart. (Hey, I’ve insulted everyone else tonight! I might as well make the Walmart people mad too!) So while we’re on the topic of Walmart, go check out the new poll.
Slap happy. That’s what you call it. 😛
I don’t know how much advice I have for you, though we have really enjoyed having our kids in bed with us, and my wife has said it is really easy to feed them in the middle of the night, with no one really waking up.
I was also struck by you saying that you have done the “eat/play/sleep thing religiously for four months”. I am not quite sure what that is, but if you have been doing something that isn’t working, maybe you should try something else.
Oh — we were recently talking to some brand new parents who had heard that you shouldn’t ever rock a baby to sleep, because she will get dependent on the rocking to sleep. So, they never do that. And strangely enough, their baby never sleeps. So – if you heard that rumor as well, I’d ignore it.
Stick to a routine. Always do the same thing even if your bedtime varies. Many times kids know their routine..ie.. Bath, story bed. I really liked the No Cry Sleep Solution, it gave me lots of ideas and a different way of looking at sleep. Here’s to a good night’s sleep!
Gretchen
I agree with those that said having your child sleep in bed with you. It’s amazing how easily they will sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s bed.
Some kids just aren’t good sleepers. It might be something they outgrow, or it could be the way they are wired. It might be worth asking your mom and mom-in-law what kind of sleepers you and David were. If one of you was a “bad” sleeper, then Caroline might just come by it honestly.
My girl did the same thing, waking up hungry every few hours. Then it took her (and us) a while to get back to sleep. What we did was that we staggered our own bedtimes by a couple of hours (10 pm and midnight, for example). Whoever was up late would make up a bottle with rice cereal as the last thing they did at night, and then feed the baby in her sleep. She would be hungry, but not hungry enough to wake up already, and she’d rouse just enough to eat but not enough to need to resettle. Put her down at 12:00 and she’d sleep until six. That gave the 10 pm person 8 hours.
After a while she started being able to eat enough when awake to keep up with her hunger — it’s a self-correcting problem within a couple-three months.
Ya, I made up the “Walmart for yuppies” quote. I felt inspired one day when I was at Target trying to find a b-day card for my dad. I couldn’t find one there because I am not a yuppie. 🙂