I'm pretty sure I'm going to die. Okay, that might be a little melodramatic, but what doesn't seem melodramatic when you're awake half the night for no reason? We've had about four to six incidents lately where Matthew wakes up in the night and just stays awake. He's not hungry. His diaper's not a problem. He doesn't seem hot or cold. I pick him up, and he puts his head down and just relaxes. But doesn't go to sleep. I put him back in the crib, leave the room––he screams like he's going to die. If one of us doesn't go back in there, he keeps crying and crying until he starts almost hyperventilating. Then I usually try to feed him again, but he either just refuses or he bites. So, you know, that's definitely not the answer. Or we'll put him in our bed between us and hope he settles down. Nope. That's the perfect place for him to grab our faces and kick and roll around. Fun times! And he's been staying awake about two hours with each incident (which thankfully isn't every night. Yet). He's like, "Hey, time to wake up! Time to stay awake for two hours! Yeah! Okay, time's up. I'll go back to sleep now." And it hasn't been happening at the same time of the night, either. It might be 11 to 1. It might be 2 to 4. No pattern.
The worst part is, I can only make it about an hour before I feel like crying until I hyperventilate. So then Jeff's gotta get up. And then we're awake even longer because I have to calm down and Matt has to calm down, and poor Jeff has to still get up and go to work in the morning. (Though, really, I would love to leave the house in the morning some days and not come back until evening. I'd sacrifice a couple of hours of baby giggles and games and smiles, along with tears and nap-fighting and diaper changes for a couple hours of solid work staring at a computer. Not many, just a couple hours. Or a couple days. I couldn't make it a week in the real world without my baby, I'm pretty sure.)
So yeah, it's rough. I don't think we're going to make it. My faith is wavering badly. I can't understand it. Maybe it's teething. Maybe it's all the new skills Matt's learned. Sometimes he's crying in the night and when one of us goes in there, he's sitting up, like sleep-crying. Or crawling backwards, sleep-crying. It's weird. A couple times when I'm watching him sleep, Matthew will just be peacefully sleeping, then he rolls over really fast, sits up, and starts crying. All with his eyes closed. That's what I'm calling sleep-crying. And sleep-sitting.
People were fond of telling me in the early months how "things will get so much better once he's five or six months." I was fond of telling them how everything was great, ideal, really, for taking care of a baby. We were sleeping well almost every night. Daytime was easy. I knew how good we had it, and I appreciated it. But now, oh my, now it's been months of incomprehensible nightwaking. I just don't see the end in sight. I'm glad I appreciated the easier times, but I sure don't feel like we're going to make it now. And.... *end melodrama*
I hate this so bad for you - I remember those days and they feel like they would never end. I'm not going to try to give advice because every baby is different and every parent has different ways to cope. A book that helped me through it and has several methods to choose from was "The Baby Whisperer". They have a good website too.
ReplyDeleteLove to all of you - I can babysit while you nap!
Luka used to do that as well. We would find out after a week he was teething. After a while we learned to give him a little Tylenol and he would go back to sleep. Try and see if that helps any... It does get better but it does get worst as well especially when they start running around and having to keep an eye on them.
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