Monday May 9th, after a pretty rough weekend, I woke up and spent another long day alone with Kayla trying to put her to sleep and her being extremely fussy. After we got out of bed, I put her on her playmat on her tummy since this is the best time and least fussy time for her. While she did some baby push-ups and looked at her toys, I was searching online for reasons for my 3.5 month old's sleep regression. In the midst of my google search, I heard a small bang. I looked up and Kayla had rolled over! I missed it! I was so excited I gasped and cheered and she cried because I scared her. The day led to another night of waking up every 2-3 hours.
Tuesday, May 10th. After another rough night, I woke up to a text message from my friend Christy, mom of Kayla's friend Ella. She wanted to know if I wanted to grab lunch in Tyson's. I was hesitant because Kayla has been so bad at napping and so fussy for the past few weeks, but I know that she seems to do better when I get out and I needed a reprieve. So out to Tyson's we went. Christy and I had a nice lunch at Panera where Kayla was super well-behaved, but got a little fussy towards the end. We then went to visit Dad at work and meet a few people who hadn't had a chance to meet her when she was 2.5 weeks old. Again, this all led to another poor sleeping night. We tried to give her some rice cereal this night to try to extend her sleeping time. (This made no difference.)
Wednesday, May 11th. I woke up again after a pretty sleepless night. I put her down for a nap around 8:30 and she slept for her usualy 30-40 minutes. When she woke up, I fed her and we played for a little bit, but after about 30 minutes she got super fussy. I was at the end of my rope. I was talking to my mom and she told me that she thought Kayla just needed to cry a bit and wear herself out. So I gave in, I changed her diaper, kissed her, told her I loved her and that I was sorry. Then I put her down in her crib awake, turned on the monitor and left the room. She cried, and I cried, for about 20 minutes. Then there was silence at the other end of the monitor. I went up to check on her and she was asleep! And she slept for an hour and a half! When she woke up she was happier and less fussy. I fed her and we played and in the afternoon, I did the same thing. Put her down and walked out of the room. This time she only cried for 12 minutes and she slept for another hour and a half. We tried the rice cereal again at night, and we put her down awake in the crib and she cried for about 10 minutes and fell asleep. Then she woke up after an hour, then again after another hour, and another and we fed her and put her back to bed. She still woke up every 3 hours, but she went back to sleep in her pack n play much quicker.
Thursday, May 12th. Another sleepless night but a little bit of hope. I read a nap book my mom bought for me online and then my good friend Miranda sent me a PDF book about sleep that we are now following. This morning, she napped for about 30 minutes then was crying pretty intensely so I changed her diaper and put her back to sleep. I woke her up after another 50 minutes or so because I wanted to go to baby and me yoga. We took the trip down and Kayla showed off her rolling skills. She rolled in BOTH directions!!! She got a little fussy toward the end of yoga but not too bad. When we got home, I put her down to play after feeding her and she was rolling all over the place! Each time, I clapped and told her how great she was. I'm so proud!!! She took another nap going down pretty easily then we determined a new bedtime routine and decided to start it at 6:30 pm so she was put down for bed around 7. She fussed for around 15 minutes and fell asleep. About an hour later she fussed again, serious crying this time so Justin went to calm her down and back to sleep she went. And she slept until 1:30 am. And then again until 5:30 am until waking up for the day around 7:30.
We aren't using the pacifier. I like the book Miranda sent me because the author reminds you that you aren't making your child cry, you are letting her cry. And although it may be so hard for you to do, you are doing what is best for her by teaching her how to put herself to sleep and how to get good uninterrupted sleep so that she can be fully rested and ready to take on the day. So I am hopeful about this sleep training. The day time naps still aren't quite great, but the book says naps take a little longer to develop than nighttime sleep. I think we are on the right track...PLUS my baby is rolling over!!! :)
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