Pity me
For the last week or so, we've had a return of sleeping problems with Daisy--after so long with things going well. Of course, these three-year-old sleeping problems are not at all the same thing we dealt with when Daisy was a baby, so we don't really know what to do. Anyway: for the last week Daisy has been putting up a MAJOR struggle about bedtime, yelling from her bed and asking for things (books, water, milk, adjustment to blankets, to have one of us rub her back or stay with her, etc.) This can go on for hours. She has not been getting to sleep till late--I'd say anywhere between 9:30 and 11. The crazy part is that she still gets up at the same time the next morning--between 6:30 and 7. The result is that she is getting exhausted, and we are too. Then, naps haven't been any better. She willingly enough gets into bed (she does at bedtime, too), but then she starts calling for us. She is so sleep-deprived from her bad nighttime sleep that she will eventually take a nap, but only if one of us goes in and rubs her back or stays with her.
I am SO TIRED.
I am SO TIRED.
posted by Sarah Goss at 9:30 AM
5 Comments:
I have no idea if this is even viable for you guys but I remember having sleeping problems around the same age (maybe a bit older). My parents would lie down next to me and just pretend to sleep for about ten or 15 minutes until I fell asleep then would slip out. I'm sure it was inconvenient for them, but it helped.
The trick is to lay down on the same side of the bed as the door so it's easy to get away. ;)
Um, I just reread that. I meant one parent or the other, not both at the same time, obviously. :)
Hi lumenatrix!! Did you get my recent email and invite in the mail? I am worried that I've lost track of you!
Ahh, how nice to read about this from the other point of view! I remember having a lot of sleeping problems, too. If anyone should empathize with Daisy, it oughta be me. We have definitely tried versions of this with Daisy, in the past and with this recent problem. The trouble is that it sometimes takes her hours to fall asleep, and with us lying next to her, she can become even more animated--talking to us, for example, instead of trying to sleep. Also, it then seems to breed other problems... if she wakes up as we're sneaking out, she screams. Or if she wakes up a few hours later and we're not there, she screams. So it kind of feels like we're avoiding the issue, which is that she IS going to have to sleep alone. I would have no objection to helping her get through a rough spot, but it makes me kind of crazy not knowing how looooooong it might last... if I knew I only had to do it for a week or two, I'd be up for it. But I'm afraid we'll be adding momentum to a problem that could become ongoing. Aaaaaaaaaah :-(
As you must know, Sarah, as a child you had sleeping problems like these. Your mother or I spent many an evening sitting in your bedroom or lying down on the floor.
Gompy
Hi Dad,
I know, you are right--I had sleeping problems (see my above comment to lumenatrix!). Though I think mine were different from Daisy's. We have been able to learn from her that her issue is that she does NOT WANT TO BE ALONE--which is understandable. But she is not in terror, or anything like that. The problem if we lie on the floor or next to her is that it seems to prolong the whole thing... she can stay awake for hours, no exaggeration, and if we're there, it tends to make it worse because she wants to talk with us/interact with us. Then, if she falls asleep with one of us by her side, she's very upset if she hears us leaving or wakes up and we're not there.
Things seem to go much better for us when she gets to sleep on her own. That does not mean that we ignore her if she's in distress, of course! We go in and respond to her if she sounds like she's upset. Last night she got to sleep on her own much more quickly than in the past six nights or so; I would say it took about half an hour, but she got there on her own. So I think we might be getting back on track. I hope so!
Post a Comment
<< Home