Shanana
09-11-2007, 03:10 PM
DD (25 months) has never been a good sleeper. I think most of her frequent night wakings had to do with digestive issues (gassiness). We got that mostly under control this past spring (how I love homeopathy!), and then she decided she would no longer go to bed. Putting her to bed (which had previously gone well) resulted in battles of epic proportions. At one point, the only way to get her to sleep was for me to stand up, cradle her like a baby (all 27 lbs of her!) and sway from side to side. This would immobilize her long enough for the fatigue to take over and she would fall asleep (my arms got REALLY strong). We've seen steady improvement since then, but still aren't back to where we were.
Well, ever since I found out I was pregnant, things have been going downhill again. I have not discussed the pregnancy with dd, because she's still so young, and I don't want to have to try to explain a m/c if that happens. I figure I'll wait until the second trimester before I start trying to explain my pregnancy to her. That said, I know kids aren't stupid, and I've read all sorts of stories here at MDC where kids told their moms about the pregnancy even before the mom knew! So I figure it's pretty likely she has at least sensed a change.
Until a few weeks ago, she typically slept from about 9 PM to 9 AM, and took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Again, there was a fair amount of variation to that pattern (dd is anything but predictable :lol), but we hit that often enough for me to say it was our average. Lately, she is going to bed between 11 and midnight (if we try to put her to bed earlier she screams bloody murder, regardless of what we're doing -- rocking her, sitting with her, etc.), getting up around 8:30 AM, and refusing naps :dizzy:. And she is exhausted. Again, it's not like that every day. Some days she goes to bed at 9:30. Or 10:30. Last night she went to bed at midnight and slept until 10:15 AM. And I did finally get her down for a nap (with minimal fuss) about 20 minutes ago. But I think that has more to do with her being utterly exhausted than anything else.
FYI, we have not co-slept since she was about 9 months old. I am not opposed to having her in my bed at this point, but she does. not. sleep. I've tried repeatedly and had her in there for an hour or more, and I feel like I'm in a wrestling match. I'm honestly afraid she's going to break my nose. She's bouncing all over the place, kicking and flopping and jumping, etc. She will not lie down. And I can't pretend to be asleep, because I need to watch her to make sure she's not about to pull a wrestling move on my face. At that point, I just get up and let her play for a while, and then try putting her to bed again.
Also, she has never ever had separation anxiety. I went to an MDC coffee night last night, and she flipped out when I left. DH said it took quite a while to calm her down, too.
Anyway. I'm just wondering if anyone else is seeing anything like this. It just seems like she's picking up on the vibe that she's not going to be the "only one" anymore, and it's almost like she's afraid she's going to lose us or something. Starting today, I told her that I will always love her, she will always be my baby, etc., trying to reassure any fears she might have without directly discussing the pregnancy.
This is just so hard, because I'm so tired as it is, and staying up past MY bedtime with her, and not getting a nap during the day is killing me :dizzy:. She won't go to bed for dh, so I can't turn duties over to him ...
Well, ever since I found out I was pregnant, things have been going downhill again. I have not discussed the pregnancy with dd, because she's still so young, and I don't want to have to try to explain a m/c if that happens. I figure I'll wait until the second trimester before I start trying to explain my pregnancy to her. That said, I know kids aren't stupid, and I've read all sorts of stories here at MDC where kids told their moms about the pregnancy even before the mom knew! So I figure it's pretty likely she has at least sensed a change.
Until a few weeks ago, she typically slept from about 9 PM to 9 AM, and took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Again, there was a fair amount of variation to that pattern (dd is anything but predictable :lol), but we hit that often enough for me to say it was our average. Lately, she is going to bed between 11 and midnight (if we try to put her to bed earlier she screams bloody murder, regardless of what we're doing -- rocking her, sitting with her, etc.), getting up around 8:30 AM, and refusing naps :dizzy:. And she is exhausted. Again, it's not like that every day. Some days she goes to bed at 9:30. Or 10:30. Last night she went to bed at midnight and slept until 10:15 AM. And I did finally get her down for a nap (with minimal fuss) about 20 minutes ago. But I think that has more to do with her being utterly exhausted than anything else.
FYI, we have not co-slept since she was about 9 months old. I am not opposed to having her in my bed at this point, but she does. not. sleep. I've tried repeatedly and had her in there for an hour or more, and I feel like I'm in a wrestling match. I'm honestly afraid she's going to break my nose. She's bouncing all over the place, kicking and flopping and jumping, etc. She will not lie down. And I can't pretend to be asleep, because I need to watch her to make sure she's not about to pull a wrestling move on my face. At that point, I just get up and let her play for a while, and then try putting her to bed again.
Also, she has never ever had separation anxiety. I went to an MDC coffee night last night, and she flipped out when I left. DH said it took quite a while to calm her down, too.
Anyway. I'm just wondering if anyone else is seeing anything like this. It just seems like she's picking up on the vibe that she's not going to be the "only one" anymore, and it's almost like she's afraid she's going to lose us or something. Starting today, I told her that I will always love her, she will always be my baby, etc., trying to reassure any fears she might have without directly discussing the pregnancy.
This is just so hard, because I'm so tired as it is, and staying up past MY bedtime with her, and not getting a nap during the day is killing me :dizzy:. She won't go to bed for dh, so I can't turn duties over to him ...