Been about 5-6 full nights since the last update - I didn't post an update because honestly, the progress had been stagnant for the last 5-6 nights. I was feeling pretty defeated because I have put in SO MUCH WORK and I felt like I wasn't making any progress :(.
(We'll talk more about my feelings on it so far later.)
She would always sleep for about an hour after I put her down for bedtime, but then be up for 2-3 hours until she'd be able to go back to sleep again. This is not really "normal" for a baby after sleep training for two weeks now, most babies will only be up for an hour at most and then be able to go back to sleep. Most babies can be fully sleep trained within a week.
But, our situation hasn't been typical. We're trying to reverse about a month or two of having a late bedtime for her, simply because we didn't know any better. So I think her body is just running its course and taking its time to adjust to the new schedule of about 6:30 waketime and 5:30 bedtime.
THANKFULLY!!! Yesterday night, she was only up for 45 minutes before she was able to go back to sleep again! That's the shortest time EVER.. hopefully she keeps this up. I get so anxious just watching her and praying she gets a peaceful and restful night's worth of sleep because it's so agonizing hearing her cry for (usually) about an hour every night and not being able to do anything about it and knowing that she wants and craves the sleep, but just can't seem to be getting it!!
--
Three days after my last update, there was one night where I felt like I had hit a plateau and that it didn't seem to be getting any better. Poor Mya was crying on and off pretty hard for an hour or two, even worse than the previous nights. I felt so bad and was really desperate to make it better - for her sake. It really pulls at your heartstrings to hear your baby cry so much consistently and not being able to do anything about it. I ended up emailing a baby sleep consultant and then finally biting the bullet and buying her full package of services ($295 for 2 weeks of coaching) to be able to talk to her and get her insight. At the least, I would have at least a professional to ask questions in real-time and be able to bounce off ideas, since the internet is not a great place to seek answers. I had previously spoken to her but only paid like a $60 fee to talk to her for 30 minutes.
I ended up talking to her and she didn't really give much additional insight or things I didn't know already.. but it was still good to get a professional's reassurance on everything I was thinking. Grr. I was just having a REALLY bad night and honestly I could have made-do without actually purchasing her services, because I think time just needed to run its course for Mya to be able to adjust her internal clock. Either way, I did end up feeling better after talking to a professional and $300 isn't too much in the long run for that peace of mind.
My thoughts on it so far!
Sleep training has been very tiring. I watch the baby monitor like a freakin' HAWK, even though I know I don't have to. Like even if I jot down my notes 5-10 minutes off of when she actually wakes up or sleeps, it doesn't make that much of a difference. But I can't help but stare at the screen to see what she is doing and just constantly hoping that she's squeezing in more sleep when she can.
Naps continue to be an artform. At her current age of 5 months, her naps are always going to be variable. It's around the 6 month mark when you can have a more rigid/predictable schedule.. I can't wait for that! At this age, she's supposed to start getting 4 naps instead of 3, but since she's been so tired, she still usually takes 4 naps. Unfortunately, most of them usually only last 30 minutes (the time of one sleep cycle) and the current goal is to have her sleep at least an hour for them. That's not something I can help her do - but I can't help but always stare at the baby monitor and HOPE that she naps over 30 minutes. At this point, she never does and I always sigh when she starts stirring after 30 minutes :(
It's kind of crazy that once she DOES go down for a nap, I can always set the timer for 30 minutes and be able to do whatever and know that she's at least going to be down for that one sleep cycle. So sometimes, I'll just lie down and close my eyes just to have a small break.
Her nighttime sleep is the same. I can do other things like watch TV or just.. relax, instead of staring at the baby monitor. I'm always wondering, HOW LONG IS SHE GONNA STAY ASLEEP THIS TIME BEFORE SHE WAKES UP? Once she does get better, I imagine I'll be more relaxed. I think my anxiety about this is also preventing me from my own sleep. I tend to wake up multiple times in the night (even if Mya is still sleeping) and check my phone. Usually like -- 3-4 times in the middle of the night and then I pop up awake at 5 AM and can't go back to sleep. ERGH. I'm pretty much getting the same amount of sleep almost as when she was a newborn, but thankfully, I can function on only 5-6 hours of sleep. I do get really tired in the middle of the day when I'm playing with her, but honestly, I'm so busy that I can hardly even think about it too much. So that one 30 minute session where I'm lying down for her last nap is pretty great.. I wish I could nap more when she's napping but that's usually when I get hungry and I have to eat.. hah
ANYWAY! Longass update. It's now 6:47 AM (after I've been up at 5) and I'm gonna wake up the baby soon if she doesn't wake up by 7! =)
See y'all later!
(We'll talk more about my feelings on it so far later.)
She would always sleep for about an hour after I put her down for bedtime, but then be up for 2-3 hours until she'd be able to go back to sleep again. This is not really "normal" for a baby after sleep training for two weeks now, most babies will only be up for an hour at most and then be able to go back to sleep. Most babies can be fully sleep trained within a week.
But, our situation hasn't been typical. We're trying to reverse about a month or two of having a late bedtime for her, simply because we didn't know any better. So I think her body is just running its course and taking its time to adjust to the new schedule of about 6:30 waketime and 5:30 bedtime.
THANKFULLY!!! Yesterday night, she was only up for 45 minutes before she was able to go back to sleep again! That's the shortest time EVER.. hopefully she keeps this up. I get so anxious just watching her and praying she gets a peaceful and restful night's worth of sleep because it's so agonizing hearing her cry for (usually) about an hour every night and not being able to do anything about it and knowing that she wants and craves the sleep, but just can't seem to be getting it!!
--
Three days after my last update, there was one night where I felt like I had hit a plateau and that it didn't seem to be getting any better. Poor Mya was crying on and off pretty hard for an hour or two, even worse than the previous nights. I felt so bad and was really desperate to make it better - for her sake. It really pulls at your heartstrings to hear your baby cry so much consistently and not being able to do anything about it. I ended up emailing a baby sleep consultant and then finally biting the bullet and buying her full package of services ($295 for 2 weeks of coaching) to be able to talk to her and get her insight. At the least, I would have at least a professional to ask questions in real-time and be able to bounce off ideas, since the internet is not a great place to seek answers. I had previously spoken to her but only paid like a $60 fee to talk to her for 30 minutes.
I ended up talking to her and she didn't really give much additional insight or things I didn't know already.. but it was still good to get a professional's reassurance on everything I was thinking. Grr. I was just having a REALLY bad night and honestly I could have made-do without actually purchasing her services, because I think time just needed to run its course for Mya to be able to adjust her internal clock. Either way, I did end up feeling better after talking to a professional and $300 isn't too much in the long run for that peace of mind.
My thoughts on it so far!
Sleep training has been very tiring. I watch the baby monitor like a freakin' HAWK, even though I know I don't have to. Like even if I jot down my notes 5-10 minutes off of when she actually wakes up or sleeps, it doesn't make that much of a difference. But I can't help but stare at the screen to see what she is doing and just constantly hoping that she's squeezing in more sleep when she can.
Naps continue to be an artform. At her current age of 5 months, her naps are always going to be variable. It's around the 6 month mark when you can have a more rigid/predictable schedule.. I can't wait for that! At this age, she's supposed to start getting 4 naps instead of 3, but since she's been so tired, she still usually takes 4 naps. Unfortunately, most of them usually only last 30 minutes (the time of one sleep cycle) and the current goal is to have her sleep at least an hour for them. That's not something I can help her do - but I can't help but always stare at the baby monitor and HOPE that she naps over 30 minutes. At this point, she never does and I always sigh when she starts stirring after 30 minutes :(
It's kind of crazy that once she DOES go down for a nap, I can always set the timer for 30 minutes and be able to do whatever and know that she's at least going to be down for that one sleep cycle. So sometimes, I'll just lie down and close my eyes just to have a small break.
Her nighttime sleep is the same. I can do other things like watch TV or just.. relax, instead of staring at the baby monitor. I'm always wondering, HOW LONG IS SHE GONNA STAY ASLEEP THIS TIME BEFORE SHE WAKES UP? Once she does get better, I imagine I'll be more relaxed. I think my anxiety about this is also preventing me from my own sleep. I tend to wake up multiple times in the night (even if Mya is still sleeping) and check my phone. Usually like -- 3-4 times in the middle of the night and then I pop up awake at 5 AM and can't go back to sleep. ERGH. I'm pretty much getting the same amount of sleep almost as when she was a newborn, but thankfully, I can function on only 5-6 hours of sleep. I do get really tired in the middle of the day when I'm playing with her, but honestly, I'm so busy that I can hardly even think about it too much. So that one 30 minute session where I'm lying down for her last nap is pretty great.. I wish I could nap more when she's napping but that's usually when I get hungry and I have to eat.. hah
ANYWAY! Longass update. It's now 6:47 AM (after I've been up at 5) and I'm gonna wake up the baby soon if she doesn't wake up by 7! =)
See y'all later!
Comments
Post a Comment