Samuel has never slept well! And he's always slept less hours at night than your average child but takes a good nap in the afternoon. He's the kind of kid whose mind is on auto pilot and he's always ready to go the second his eyes open. He has never been the type to just pass out from exhaustion. Never! The past month has brought some really difficult sleep problems our way and I'm looking for suggestions. Tim and I are going crazy and with the baby about to arrive we are fearing the worst.
Samuel must be going through some serious separation anxiety and responding to me being very pregnant and not quite the energetic Mommy I once was. All of a sudden, he refuses to go to bed, begging me to sing to him, stay with him, etc. He always went to bed without a problem. So, I've been sitting in a chair in his room as a compromise but it still takes him forever and a day to settle down and actually fall asleep. I rarely get him to fall asleep before 9pm, no matter what time we start his bedtime routine. Which by the way has not changed one bit.
He is also night waking several times a night and must come sleep next to me on the couch (my new bed). Tim and I have been sticklers about not letting Samuel sleep with us. No-one really sleeps anyway when 3 of us are in bed. So, I let him cuddle for 5-10 minutes, get a Mommy fix and then Tim takes him back to bed. Sometimes he falls right back to sleep but often it takes quite a bit of soothing. And then ever other week it seems like we have a really bad night and Samuel is up for 2-3 hours.
Samuel is also up at the crack of dawn - 6 am on the dot! This is actually an improvement from the 5 o' clock hour we were plagued with for so long. We wound up putting an alarm clock in his bedroom and telling him he couldn't get out of bed until 6am. It worked for awhile, but lately he comes out to snuggle with me no matter what time it is.
Needless to say, Samuel takes long naps about 2-2.5 hours each day.
It's really hard on a us to have him in bed so late and up so early. We feel like we never have any down time without him around. Marriages need that if ya know what I mean. Anyway, just wondering if anyone out there might have some suggestions???
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2 comments:
I don't kow if the situations are similar, but we have had to recently make some naptime sacrifice to preserve bedtime. I am having Juli take a max 1 1/2 hr. nap, and not letting her sleep at all after 3pm. Which means some days that she only has a half hour nap (if it takes her awhile to fall asleep), but she's been falling asleep better at night. My hope is that we'll be able to pull naptime back some so that she is getting a good night sleep AND a nap, but at this point, if I have to pick, I'm choosing night sleep. I am still having Juli spend the time she would have been napping in her bed - she can read a book or talk to her animals if she's not tired enough to fall asleep yet.
Jordan thinks part of it is that I've been so tired lately that Juli hasn't been getting as much activity - not doing a whole lot of playing at the park or running errands.
I agree with Sarah. We went through this with Eve - lessened activity because I had no energy while pregnant, and sh just didn't need the long nap. So we decreased nap time and bumped up bedtime.
Also, this may not be the popular opinion or advice, regardless - I'd go hard core. Stick with your simple bedtime routine, but that's it. I've had to implement the tough mama routine a few times, it stinks for the child because they are hearing no ( with love, of course) - with no wiggle room, but I have found it works like a charm. If they know you are serious and there is no option to sway you it will (hopefully) change things.
But let me say - I am a familiar visitor to the pregnant mama guilt - wanting to give the child(ren) all the love and attention in the world.
I'll pray for much wisdom, Michelle.
-Andrea
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