We have Carson's 9-month appointment tomorrow. I'm anxious to see how my boy has grown, ask some feeding questions, and leave the office without getting shots. Yep, at 9-months, no shots. Wahoo!
However, I can hear it now, standard questions I assume most doctors ask,
"Is he sleeping in a crib? Are you co-sleeping?"
One month ago, my answers to these questions would have been yes, he's in his crib and sleeps all night long (most of the time). Done and Done.
But nope, that hasn't been the case lately. I swear he's teething. I blame everything on teething.
Fussy? Teething.
Not sleeping? Teething.
Slight
fever? Teething.
Loose stools? Teething.
Not eating? Teething.
Teething causes lots of things to go awry. Brian says I've been blaming teething for 6 months. Maybe, just maybe,
I am just trying to point fingers and pinpoint reasons for his lack of routine. Stupid teething.
I don't know what the deal is, but his sleeping has altered. He wakes up a lot throughout the night. And now that he is upright, he just stands at the crib rails and wails.When he was sick, he did the same thing and would only sleep while being held. So what did we do? Held him, all night long.
It got better though. He went back to being a sleeping angel. But now I feel like we are taking steps backward. Great nights of sleep are spotty and extremely inconsistent.
We've tried rocking him back to sleep, but he wakes right back up once you set him down in the crib. About every hour. Well, I'm not going to do that back and forth all night long. No thank you.
So, we resorted to co-sleeping.
Gasp! I know, it's a no-no in mommy world.
But, Moms and Dads need sleep too, and sometimes, you have to do what's best for your sanity. It hasn't been a ton of nights, but more nights than we would prefer.
So last night, both Brian and I decided we were going to put a stop to this before it becomes a habit. We made a pact at dinner that we were both going to stay strong and let him "cry it out."
I felt good about it.
We have some experience with "crying it out," but only for when he first falls
asleep for the night. The middle of the night...when sleep is abruptly interrupted is a whole different ball game. I tend to do whatever I can just to get sleep. Hence, Carson has us trained to pull him into bed with us.
First of all, listening to your baby cry is just heart wrenching. Not running to comfort them is one of the hardest things I've ever done. It sounds silly...until you experience it.
I sat there with
two doors between us and just listened. Even a pillow over my head didn't help. I had to find the willpower to
not run in there and pick him up. And kiss him. And tell him I love him.
"
This is good for him Krista," was on repeat.
He woke up every hour for about 10 minutes starting at 10:30 and finally stopped at 3:30, when he gave us a good stretch with no crying. The
few times we allowed ourselves to check on him, he appeared to be in a very uncomfortable position or slammed up against the rails. It was obvious he was falling
asleep while standing and wailing or trying to get
there.
It was a tough night, but he hasn't made a peep yet tonight. Keeping my fingers crossed that tonight goes better. And if it doesn't? We'll keep trying. And
learning.
See, that's the funny thing about parenthood. They are learning just as much as we are.
