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Posted by Steve (Hannah's Dad) on December 05, 2002 at 23:07:28:
First of all .. sorry this is so long :) Things appear to be looking up in the sleeping department for Hannah (6.5 months old, for those who don't know) but I'm still not sure I like the way I'm doing it. It makes me kind of sad, but it's getting results and I guess that's the important thing. This is the third night since we stopped nursing Hannah to sleep. Basically my wife nurses Hannah for the last time and then hands her to me awake. I take her upstairs, read her "Goodnight Moon" (might stop this as it seems to wake her up .. she loves to eat books), then turn off the light and turn on her Baby Beatles and her aquarium. I then lean over her crib for a little while and whisper to her about closing her eyes and going off to "Dreamland". This hasn't done a lot to calm her down, so when she's about as calm as I think she's going to get, I kiss her on the forehead, tell her goodnight and that I love her, and leave the room. It's what happens next that is troubling me. She shrieks like a banshee until she sleeps. We go in and pat her and talk to her every five minutes to try to let her know that it's okay, but it does little to settle her down. The first night (as I posted the other day) we had to go in three times before she settled for my wife. Last night she settled in less than 5 minutes. Tonight it took 10 minutes but she only shrieked for 5 of that. Now, once she wears herself out (and yes, I believe that's all that she's doing at this point) she sleeps HARD. The first night she woke up a couple of random times. Last night she went from 8pm until 2am, woke up for a feeding and went down pretty easily, and then slept until 5:30. Tonight I don't know what's in store for us but I haven't heard a peep from her yet. I really hate listening to her cry but I really don't know what else to do with her. She CANNOT be calmed with patting and talking. It just doesn't work with her. Maybe it will someday. She also isn't responding to rocking or walking all that well these days. I know several of you are working on settling rituals right now. Are you having the same problems? I feel like I'm abandoning her to deal with her sleep issues by herself. I know the sleep association with nursing wasn't necessarily good, but is it possible she's getting a feeling of abandonment associated with sleeping? :(
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