Monday, April 23, 2012

So Freaking Tired

We are so tired. We seem to make kids that don't sleep. Both are up multiple times a night.

We knew from day one that we would practice bed-sharing when the kids were little. Jamie transitioned to his own room without too much horrible drama when he was younger than Harper. She, however, is proving to be a tough nut to crack. We are trying to transition her to a crib in her brother's room and it is not going very well yet. She's in there maybe two hours before waking up VERY upset at being 'alone' in the crib.

Jamie was done nursing around 14 months are so and Harper is 15 months and shows no inclination to be done any time soon. I'm totally ok with this as I know that the World Health Organization recommends that "mothers worldwide to exclusively breastfeed infants for the child's first six months to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, they should be given nutritious complementary foods and continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years or beyond." I knew that I would nurse her until it was beneficial for us both to stop. So far she is not ready but the night time nursing sessions are guaranteeing that a night of uninterrupted sleep is a distant dream right now.

Crying it out (CIO) is not an option. I just can't do it. She gets too upset too quickly and it's just not for us.

I guess I'm asking for advice on what to do. I know there are enough attachment parents around here that have probably gone through the same situation and can offer suggestions.

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(I will say this as respectfully as I can - Please don't tell us how CIO really works or how we shouldn't have had the babies in the bed in the first place. We are confident in our decisions and don't want to hear how we are 'doing it wrong'. We just want to know how to move forward so that we can all sleep more. Thanks in advance for your help.)

4 comments:

Stephanie F said...

We didn't do CIO either, but when we transitioned P to her crib, there were a couple of moments. What worked for us is the projector (as discussed before), and we would go in if she woke in the middle of the night after a few minutes, lay her back down with the bink and blanket, rub her tummy, and leave when she was calm. It was kind of important for us to give it a few minutes because sometimes, she just needed to fuss for a second and go back to sleep, but there was no all-out crying. The crib is new for Harper so it's obviously going to be a little uncomfortable at first - right along with learning to self-soothe. There are ways to do it gently though.

The Slacker Mom said...

No sleep is so tough! The twins didn't sleep longer than 90 minutes at a stretch (and they alternated!) for the first 14 months. I was happy Judah was a better sleeper and I attribute that to co-sleeping and nursing. We're going through a sleep regression of sorts and it's making us both crazy- we expect it with a newborn or an infant but not a 30 pound 20 month old!

Marta said...

I stopped nursing both of mine around their 12 month birthdays, but also not being a fan of CIO we did the "no cry sleep solution" by Elizabeth Pantely. It worked great for Ben and Bella has always been a good sleeper.

daniellaprice30 said...

I could pretty much relate to your sleeping problems because I started to have insomnia when I was in law school. I even went to a specialist and he taught me how to sleep with your eyes open. It's an exercise for those who are deprived with sleep.