I want to vent. My child's sleep times take my time to a miserable extent - hours every day.
I have one child, 15 months now. Since my son was a few months old, I have had nap and bedtime routines. I'm fairly consistent with the time of day, the location (we all share the same bed), etc. Occasionally he will fall asleep in the carseat or nap in the stroller, Ergo, or sling - those are the departures from the norm. There are times I'll use the carriers to get him almost asleep before attempting the usual nap.
Now it's either one long nap a day, or two short ones. All sleep times involve lots of me (or dad, but bedtime must be me). Side-lying nursing, playing dead, singing, carrying. Most of the time it's nursing and then lying there. Sometimes he falls asleep on the breast - and if he does, it's hard to pop him off most of the time (I counted 7 times in a row once, with fuss each time). Sometimes I nap with him. Many times, when I want to get up, I can't for an hour (he's on the breast or is in a very light sleep), and he may sleep 2-3 hours, or only 1/2 hour more!
Today sucked. Little bear looked tired around his usual naptime in late morning, so I started the process. An hour later, he wasn't sleeping. Husband took him, I took a break, then tried again with the breast. He wasn't having it. (no evidence of teething pain right now...molars just came in, only waking me 2 times during the night). Husband took him out for lunch so I could have a break, which I'm grateful for. Bear fell asleep on the drive back, and my husband took him into the bedroom, then stayed until he went back to sleep.
Night time - dinner, relaxing quiet play time (gives him a chance to poop), bath, book, etc. In bed by 7:40. He usually falls asleep by 8:30 (I keep trying to move bedtime back, but without heavy curtains, the light probably keeps him awake). Oh, but tonight, we went through every trick I could come up with, and at 9:00, he still wasn't asleep. I mean, I tried several ways to dispel the excess energy he exhibited, then I carried and rocked him, sang to him, nursed him until he showed no interest, nursed him again an hour later when he patted my breast, etc.
He fell asleep by 9:15. At that point, I was sobbing. Some days I can let my expectations go. Tonight I wanted some time earlier in the evening when I'm not so tired, time to spend with my husband without being exhausted. I'm extremely low on "me" time.
If this was just one bad day, I could deal. But many days, I don't get away from him until 8:45 (if I don't fall asleep!), when I'm worn out.
I love him, and bedtime is one of my favorite times of the day to spend with him, but not when I'm feeling so deprived of my own life.
Feel free to share ideas - I've probably done them, though maybe not in the right combination for long enough. I've read the No Cry Sleep Solution.
I have one child, 15 months now. Since my son was a few months old, I have had nap and bedtime routines. I'm fairly consistent with the time of day, the location (we all share the same bed), etc. Occasionally he will fall asleep in the carseat or nap in the stroller, Ergo, or sling - those are the departures from the norm. There are times I'll use the carriers to get him almost asleep before attempting the usual nap.
Now it's either one long nap a day, or two short ones. All sleep times involve lots of me (or dad, but bedtime must be me). Side-lying nursing, playing dead, singing, carrying. Most of the time it's nursing and then lying there. Sometimes he falls asleep on the breast - and if he does, it's hard to pop him off most of the time (I counted 7 times in a row once, with fuss each time). Sometimes I nap with him. Many times, when I want to get up, I can't for an hour (he's on the breast or is in a very light sleep), and he may sleep 2-3 hours, or only 1/2 hour more!
Today sucked. Little bear looked tired around his usual naptime in late morning, so I started the process. An hour later, he wasn't sleeping. Husband took him, I took a break, then tried again with the breast. He wasn't having it. (no evidence of teething pain right now...molars just came in, only waking me 2 times during the night). Husband took him out for lunch so I could have a break, which I'm grateful for. Bear fell asleep on the drive back, and my husband took him into the bedroom, then stayed until he went back to sleep.
Night time - dinner, relaxing quiet play time (gives him a chance to poop), bath, book, etc. In bed by 7:40. He usually falls asleep by 8:30 (I keep trying to move bedtime back, but without heavy curtains, the light probably keeps him awake). Oh, but tonight, we went through every trick I could come up with, and at 9:00, he still wasn't asleep. I mean, I tried several ways to dispel the excess energy he exhibited, then I carried and rocked him, sang to him, nursed him until he showed no interest, nursed him again an hour later when he patted my breast, etc.
He fell asleep by 9:15. At that point, I was sobbing. Some days I can let my expectations go. Tonight I wanted some time earlier in the evening when I'm not so tired, time to spend with my husband without being exhausted. I'm extremely low on "me" time.
If this was just one bad day, I could deal. But many days, I don't get away from him until 8:45 (if I don't fall asleep!), when I'm worn out.
I love him, and bedtime is one of my favorite times of the day to spend with him, but not when I'm feeling so deprived of my own life.
Feel free to share ideas - I've probably done them, though maybe not in the right combination for long enough. I've read the No Cry Sleep Solution.
