No rest for the weary
Little Dude woke with screams and arms outstretched twice last night. Once at 10:30 pm, and then again at 1:30 am.
My heart just breaks when I go in there and he is kneeling in his crib, crying and holding his arms out for us to come and rescue him from whatever horror visited him in his sleep.
As an infant, Little Dude was a HORRIBLE sleeper. The Hubby and I spent many nights taking turns sleeping upright on the couch or in the recliner, with Little Dude laying on his stomach on our chests. The minute we tried to put him down, the tears and cries would begin.
We followed the rules of putting him on his back, which he hated, since he would never stay asleep longer than 30 minutes, or so it seemed. I wanted to put him on his stomach, since he did so well on his stomach when he was on us, but the fear of SIDS was too great.
Later, after he was diagnosed with his dairy protein allergy, Little Dude began to improve in his sleep habits, which made us wonder about the turmoil he was experiencing from the dairy proteins prior to our knowledge of his allergy.
Today, Little Dude is a great sleeper. Usually. Lately, however, he is waking up several times per week, at odd hours, and he is usually upset.
Night terrors, nightmares, discomfort? We have no idea… As parents, we just worry and comfort him the best we are able and we are tired – so very tired!
I’ve determined that the sleep deprivation I’ve experienced since becoming a mom is almost more difficult to deal with than leaving my child, as a mom who works outside the home. Selfish? Yes. But at the moment, very much the truth.
The people who are with Little Dude when the Hubby and I are away, have earned my trust and respect when it comes to their care of my son. I worry sometimes – especially if something isn’t quite right in Little Dude’s world, but overall, I know he is having a good day with grandma or at “school.” (Or occasionally with his aunt, cousins or my awesome neighbor, who have all helped out in the past.)
As much as I miss him, as well as that time with him, I know he is overall enjoying himself. (I pretty much get dismissed from my house by him if grandma is there.)
But as much as I miss sleep, I just can’t get that back – and it misses me as well.
**yawn**
I would love to know if anyone else has had a toddler wake frequently, and if they have ideas to help Little Dude get a better night’s sleep…
This crazy, working mom and the Hubby are both exhausted, and better sleep could only help Little Dude as well.
Jared and Alicia both went through the night terror thing… Though I *think* they were around 2-ish. (Can’t really remember how old they were, but they were young) …. Alicia calmed down a lot easier, and a lot of the time would stop screaming and be asleep before we made it to her room… As for Jared, his was BAD. He would SCREAM bloody murder, and half the time didn’t even seem to know we were in his room… It’s like he wasn’t even awake.
BUT… They both did outgrow it, as I’m sure Little Dude will too… I know it’s hard in the mean time though…
I don’t think it is selfish to want sleep – you NEED it! I wish I could offer some suggestions, but, I am not there yet! *hug*
Getting broken sleep is tough. I’m sorry that I don’t have any suggestions but I’m afraid that it has been too long since those days.
My thoughts are with you, hubby and Little Dude. Hang in there.
Umm, Miss B does not (and never has) consistently slept through the night in her previous 10 years. She was/is a frequent nightmare kid, but has developed ways of dealing with it, and only wakes me up once in awhile. She crawled into bed with us everytime she had a nightmare, until about 3 years ago. It used to go in cycles. A few months of without nightly visits and then several months with.
Nothing to worry about. It’s very common with toddlers actually. I even remember C doing it. He was always a self-soother though. Turning on his nightlight/music box and popping in his thumb. He didn’t want us in there for too long. B always wanted/ needed us until she fell back asleep.
Sleep deprivation is not any fun. Hopefully this will pass soon enough.
Bart sufferd for a while with Night Terrors, and they went on once he had woken up too. It would take a good 10 – 15 minutes to bring him around, it was as if he could still see whatever it was that was freaking him out.
Thankfully we are passed that now … getting them to stay in their own beds … that one we have not yet accomplised.
Oh, I hear you. None of my sleep through until they were 5 years old. I’d go from bed, to bed, to bed. I was like the Walking Dead. D1 had night terrors. She would wake up screeching, and we knew it was night terrors because even though her eyes were open, we had to approach her very cautiously because our movement would be incorporated into her dreams. It was awful! However, she grew out of it, and eventually they all slept through the night.
Glad you take breaks from Little Dude. It’s good for both of you. I didn’t get a single break because The Dad did not believe in leaving the children with anyone. Not even family! He got breaks because he went off to work and worked for the volunteer fire department at night. No breaks for this lady. Nope!