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Sleep, or Something like it...
Posted by Crystal
on
8:21 AM
in
boys
I remember the days before kids. The hubby and I would stay out until the sun would come up, and sleep until the sun went down. And it would be real sleep, the kind that rivals hibernating bears. We could sleep for 12-15 hours without moving! Doorbell rings... we stay sleeping. Next door neighbors kids are screaming bloody murder as their dog chases them... not even a flip in bed. Nothing would wake us.
At that time, I remember thinking how much I wanted kids. I knew that sleep would be interrupted, but I didn't think it was that big a deal. After all I was used to staying up all night. However, what I failed to realize is that when I did stay up all night, I would sleep all day. With a baby... well... they stay up all night, and then continue to stay up all day. Seriously, I don't know how they do it.
It baffles me that all my sons don't sleep though the night regularly until 2 years, while I have friends whose children sleep though at 6 weeks or sooner!! What am I doing that they aren't? I have tried everything to get them to sleep. We have tried almost every sound machine made, which does help so we can make some noise while they sleep. We have tried humidifiers and vaporizers, both warm and cool mist. We have tried lights, music cds, lovies, bankets... I tried to "Ferberize" them, cry it out... Tried co-sleeping, sleeping in the same room, sleeping in different rooms... Lights on, lights off, late night snacks, dream feeding... I mean we have tried EVERYTHING (and by we I mean I, the hubby can some how still sleep fairly well with a baby screaming).
I have talked to people who say that I am just not letting them cry long enough. Well, I don't know what they are talking about. My boys will cry literally all night! The nights when I tried Ferber or CIY, they would scream for 6 hours before I give in. I am sure that their lovely children didn't cry for 6 hours. And to top that off I did it for 2 weeks! That is a lot of crying, and WAY too much stress for me. So I guess I will just suck it up. My kids don't sleep, and that is just the way it is. They are also some of the smartest kids I know (and I am not just saying that, my 3 year old tests at a 1st grade level).
In the middle of the night, when the baby wakes up, I just try to remember that this time will soon pass. Although it is hard, and I am constantly sleep deprived, I tell myself that one day they won't want me around much at all, and I will miss the nights when the cry for mama was all they needed to be happy.
At that time, I remember thinking how much I wanted kids. I knew that sleep would be interrupted, but I didn't think it was that big a deal. After all I was used to staying up all night. However, what I failed to realize is that when I did stay up all night, I would sleep all day. With a baby... well... they stay up all night, and then continue to stay up all day. Seriously, I don't know how they do it.
It baffles me that all my sons don't sleep though the night regularly until 2 years, while I have friends whose children sleep though at 6 weeks or sooner!! What am I doing that they aren't? I have tried everything to get them to sleep. We have tried almost every sound machine made, which does help so we can make some noise while they sleep. We have tried humidifiers and vaporizers, both warm and cool mist. We have tried lights, music cds, lovies, bankets... I tried to "Ferberize" them, cry it out... Tried co-sleeping, sleeping in the same room, sleeping in different rooms... Lights on, lights off, late night snacks, dream feeding... I mean we have tried EVERYTHING (and by we I mean I, the hubby can some how still sleep fairly well with a baby screaming).
I have talked to people who say that I am just not letting them cry long enough. Well, I don't know what they are talking about. My boys will cry literally all night! The nights when I tried Ferber or CIY, they would scream for 6 hours before I give in. I am sure that their lovely children didn't cry for 6 hours. And to top that off I did it for 2 weeks! That is a lot of crying, and WAY too much stress for me. So I guess I will just suck it up. My kids don't sleep, and that is just the way it is. They are also some of the smartest kids I know (and I am not just saying that, my 3 year old tests at a 1st grade level).
In the middle of the night, when the baby wakes up, I just try to remember that this time will soon pass. Although it is hard, and I am constantly sleep deprived, I tell myself that one day they won't want me around much at all, and I will miss the nights when the cry for mama was all they needed to be happy.
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