the sleep saga: day 8

if you're behind: part 1 & part 2 are here.

i just went to the calendar to see what day we're on and am in disbelief that it's only "day 8". it seems like i've been obsessed with ben's sleep forEVER. [insert head shaking here]

so after day 2, i figured out that my child can sleep in his crip for naps if we get him in there when he's drowsy. no problem...if you spend everyday all day at home. because after his 30 - 40 minute naps (yes, i have white noise and a darkened room and yes, i leave him in his crib for an inordinate amount of time when he wakes up for hopes that he'll go back to sleep), there's still awhile to go before his next bottle. and if we were going by the 1 - 2 hours of wakefulness window, ben would need a second nap between bottles. which of course doesn't happen. so crib naps. great. ben can handle it. the question is, are they THAT much better? i understand that swinging and driving aren't the best way to help your child have a restful sleep but at least when he's swinging, he'll nap for an hour or more sometimes.

after day 3, i was like, this is ridiculous. and ben went back to his swing for a nap. he had a nap in the car. and he got in a couple naps in his crib. sounds pretty good. but ben is tricky. he can stay in a good mood despite not having enough sleep and he tricks everyone around him into thinking his mother is crazy for saying he needs a nap. but i'm not crazy! now i admit it, i started to think i was crazy and said to myself, "self, maybe your baby just doesn't need to nap so often. you're working awfully hard to get him to sleep 4 - 5 times a day. it seems a little ridiculous." so on sunday when he didn't sleep in his stroller when i went for a walk and only slept for 20 - 30 minutes twice in the swing, i thought, "meh. look how squealy and smiley he is." and then at 5:18pm, ben thought he should let us all know that he's been faking it. he screamed and screamed like he was in severe pain. by 5:25pm, i thought, well, we're putting you to bed. so i ran a bath and popped him - our usual surefire plan for tired screams. didn't work. he screamed and screamed. it was terrible. his one leg was red and warm so i wondered if something was happening to him. the screaming continued for almost an hour with no breaks. by that time i was sure we were going to have to take him to emergency. but as we (my mom and i) took turns rocking and shushing him, he'd fall asleep for a moment only to awake with a scream. anyways, eventually he got to sleep. and i felt like a fool. i'd been tricked by a baby. he DOES need 4 - 5 naps. and now i know what it looks like when he's truly overtired.

after such a terrible episode, i've put ben to bed way early the last two nights. i've started getting him ready for bed at 5:30ish instead of having another catnap at 5pm and he's in bed and asleep by 6. unfourtunately, we've also had 4 am wake-ups (which he eventually goes back to sleep for at least an hour). i'm assuming these two things are related so maybe tonight we'll go back to a little later bedtime.

and so the obsession with naps returns full-fold. this morning, two naps in the crib but i've got to get out of the house so i have plans for lunch and a walk. hopefully somewhere in there he'll grab a few minutes. fingers crossed.