Baby K - 1, Mommy - 0.
Last night I made a few adjustments to Baby K's schedule. We had dinner at 6:15, where I made him sit in his high chair for 30 minutes eating/playing. He ate 1/2 carton of yogurt, 4 Ritz crackers, and 1/3 of a jar of stage 3 greenbeans (which were really mushy--I had said earlier that he wouldn't eat stage 3 foods, but I finally found something he likes which is Beechnuts Green Beans and Potatoes "Homestyle").
After dinner, he was allowed to play for 20 minutes or so while I cleaned things up and got his bath ready. I bathed him, rubbed him down with lotion, and let him play for a little while longer. By this time it is about 7:45, so I gave him a snack of 1/2 a cereal bar and a few more crackers. At 8:15 he was given a bottle and went right to sleep.
We put him in his crib at 8:25.
He woke up at 8:45, where I made him cry for 5 minutes. I rocked him back to sleep.
He woke up at 9:50, where I made him cry for 6 minutes. K went up to change his diaper and rock him back to sleep.
He woke up at 1:15, where I made him cry for 7 minutes and I finally caved and went to change him and give him 8 oz of formula and .8 tylenol. (I'm a sucker, I know...but I am quite certain he would have stood there and cried all night had I let him, and it wasn't just a cry...he was MAD!!!!)
He woke up at 4:50, where I made him cry himself back to sleep. It took about 5-6 minutes.
He woke up at 5:35, where I made him cry for 5 minutes, then I gave him 8 oz of formula, changed his bottom, and gave him more tylenol.
I know his gums are hurting because he finally has a tooth coming in up top. It has broken through the gum and the tooth beside of it isn't far behind. I feel bad about giving him tylenol because I feel like I am medicating him to sleep--because I need him to sleep--but really, it's for his gums, I swear.
Tonight my mom is keeping him so K and I can ring in 2010! I'm sure he'll sleep like an angle for her; he always does. May 2010 bring us restful nights!
6 comments:
Hey! Sorry I'm so late to the sleeping-through-the-night party, but here I am. :) B is teething right now and it sucks. :( He has FOUR top teeth coming through - he didn't listen to my "one at a time" mantra. ;o)
I don't know that I have a lot of helpful advice for sleeping through the night. I really think it's the personality of the kid more than it is something we parents did or didn't do. B somehow is this magical sleeper who has done well since we were in the hospital. (And I'm confident if he hever has a sibling, he/she will be a poor sleeper just to spite me ;o).
Have you tried the Hyland's Teething Tablets? They are complete and total bliss for a kiddo with hurting gums. Also, if we're having a particularly hard day with teeth, I'll switch between Tylenol and Motrin and that seems to keep him more comfortable.
Unfortunately, until his teeth come all the way through, you might have some restless nights for the whole house.
The only thing we really did "differently" than the books/our friends/family told us was that we really pay attention to B's tiredness cues. He doesn't go to bed until 10pm nearly every night. Sometimes it's as early as 9pm, but never before. He's just perfectly content playing that long. Then we read a book, he gets his bedtime bottle, we say a prayer and he goes right to sleep, and usually sleeps all night until 6:30ish am (when teething though he sometimes wakes up several times just needing comforted/medicine). I know at some point he's going to have to go to bed earlier than that, but it's working well for us now. So maybe let him stay up until he's really really tired and ready to conk out? I don't know if it will work for you guys or not. It's really the only thing we do different than the norm.
Goood luck! I know it's tough right now, but it will pass. *hugs*
I'm sorry things didn't go so well. Hopefully when the teeth are done torturing him, things will change.
Don't feel bad about giving him tylenol. Teething is very painful, so it helps with the pain. Once the girls were 6 mo old I started alternating Motrin and Tylenol. The Mothrin helps a little better b/c it lowers the inflammation in the gums. I tried the teething tablets, and I don't know that they really helped at all, but I've heard lots of moms rave about them. When Little Bit was teething she didn't sleep well at all. Once the tooth was through, she started sleeping through the night again. Chipmunk slept right through the pain, which honestly, I don't know how she did it.
We're like "uncomplicateme", our girls don't get to bed until 9:15-9:30. They just aren't tired enough to go to bed earilier, and if I do try putting them to bed earlier, they are up before 6:00. We do cereal at 8:30 followed by bath and then bedtime story, prayers and songs. It's hard on us b/c we don't get much down time, but I'd much rather have them up later at night than up earlier in the morning. GL I hope his tooth comes through soon!!!!! Just keep reminding yourself that it will get better!!!
MOTRIN for teething.. it is SO much better than tylenol, IMO. Teething is definitely a huge culprit in the battle against sleep. Even my awesome little sleeper was a mess when those first teeth came in (she hasn't gotten any since the first two, so the next episode remains to be seen). I keep those plastic teething rings in the freezer and she LOVES them when I offer them up. Our pediatrician said that tablets and orajel just wind up making the gums tougher, so they actually do more harm than good in the long run. That's not to say she's right, of course, I just haven't tried them so I cannot say I have an opinion on them either way.
I hope he gets to feeling better. When I try to think what it must be like to still be waking several times at night, my heart breaks for you. You must be exhausted! Have a safe and happy New Year!
Don't feel bad about giving him tylenol. I give my girl tylenol when she is teething. Sometimes that is all that helps. It will get easier when the tooth comes in. Also, I know someone mentioned babywise in a previous post comment, but we've used it and it has worked well for us. This blog has some great pointers and tips: www.babywisemom.blogspot.com.
Oh goodness - with that schedule I'm sure you're just exhausted! Poor little guy...those teeth must really be hurting. Hoping he feels better and sleeps LOTS more for mommy!
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