Mommyhood is hard!!! Who knew?
When I do finally get her to go to sleep, she looks just like an angel!!! Makes the struggle more worth it!!!
14 years ago
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Daily Affirmation
Alexia is not a fan of naps. I don’t get it. I love a good afternoon nap. But, when it comes to that magical time of day when she’s crying for no good reason, and I know she’s fed, clean and I know she’s tired, she will not cooperate with my best efforts at putting her down for a nap. I usually try putting her in her bassinet after a sleepy feeding, but she always knows I’m putting her down, so she wakes up. At which point, I bundle her up and hold her for a few minutes, so she can fall asleep in my arms, and I can put her in her bassinet after she’s asleep. Sometimes that works. Most of the time, however, she wakes up when I put her down anyway, and she screams bloody murder for several minutes. This is the time of day when I have to exercise extreme will power and not get her. I have such a hard time listening to her cry because I imagine she’s saying “mommy, why did you leave me?” Or, “why don’t you love me?” Or other self-destructive thoughts. So, my new technique is to chant to myself quietly “I’m a good mother, I’m a good mother, I’m a good mother,” while I listen to her cry herself to sleep. I’m sure I must be doing something wrong. I’m sure all you experienced mothers know better ways of putting babies down for naps. I’ve even read books that say that if you put babies down for naps at precisely the right time (when they’re tired, but not over-tired), then they should fall asleep without tears. Apparently, this author has never met my baby. I’ve tried putting her down at the first sign of a yawn. I’ve tried putting her in her bassinet “awake, but drowsy.” Sorry, it doesn’t work for her. The only thing that works is if she’s asleep when I put her in, and by some miracle she doesn’t notice I’m setting her down. Otherwise, there are going to be tears. Sometimes only 2-3 minutes of weak crying – those are the good days! Sometimes 15 minutes of screaming. So, until I figure out a better system, I’m stuck chanting happy thoughts of motherhood to myself all afternoon. Or, I call Jacob at work and have him remind me what a good mother I am. That helps too.
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6 comments:
My David was a screamer, and he turned into a great little boy! Keep going! It only gets better! You are a great mother, and you care so much about that sweet little girl!
This too shall pass. I remember being so frustrated the first couple weeks at not being able to get my baby to nap, but then I found my secret weapon, the Moby wrap! It worked like a charm and if you are crafty you can make one yourself very easily (you can find instructions online).
It sounds like you are using "Healthy sleep Habits..." I use that too, but I have a hard time letting R cry it out, so I also used the "No cry sleep solution" and I can vouch for it. It worked in my situation, so it might work in yours, but all babies are different. Keep on doing what you feel is right! Motherhood is wonderful!
The joys of motherhood! :) Do you happen to have a baby swing? My kids loved the swing and it would rock them right to sleep. Good luck! You are doing great!
Hang in there Bec. You're doing exactly the right thing. After a while they learn that the crying isn't going to bring Mommy to them and they learn to go right to sleep. Of course, they'll even regress back to the screaming behavior a few times even after they've learned, but EVENTUALLY, they learn for good. Or the world will end. One of the two.
I wanted to tell you yes you can add my blog address to your site! When can I come see your baby? :)
Such sweet pictures! She is beautiful! Like others have said, motherhood only gets better. Brady and I watched "Happiest Baby On the Block" (we checked it out from the library), and it helped us out a lot, but Alexia might be too old for it now. I can't remember. Good luck. You couldn't be anything but an AWESOME mommy!
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