Thursday, July 22, 2010

Seriously, I NEED Help!!!

Kaitlyn will NOT nap during the day.  I really have no clue what to do.  I have tried both extremes.  I have tried feeding her until she falls asleep then put her in her crib and she wakes up either immediately or within 10 minutes.  I have tried the wake, feed, activity, sleep method (Babywise) and she won't fall asleep when I just leave her in the crib wide awake.  She won't.  What do I do?  I am so frustrated and she is so tired.  Then there is working my son's nap in because he still gets up at the crack of dawn so he HAS to take a nap during the day.  How do all of you mommys deal with a toddler who has to take naps and a newborn who won't take naps?  I feel horrible for Kaitlyn.  She is so tired.  I have also tried the swing.  At 4:45pm today I fed her, she fell asleep after eating 2 oz so I put her in her swing and she woke up 10 minutes later and is now just sitting there fussing and making noises like "Hey, Mom, can't you figure out how to help me yet?  You're the Mom; that's what you're supposed to be good at.".

My husband either doesn't think this is a big deal or he doesn't believe me that she doesn't nap when he is at work.  I get it that he has to work to support our family and I greatly appreciate this, but like today he got to go to a Detroit Tigers game for work while I'm pacing our house bouncing Kaitlyn trying to figure out how to get her to nap and my son is working every last nerve I have left.

I feel very alone and I don't feel like I have anyone to turn to even to just vent, so I'm doing it here.  My mom has too much on her plate right now and I really don't want to burden her anymore than I already do.  This would be a classic time where I would call my dad to talk but since he died I just feel lost.  I miss him so much during these times when I feel like I can't do any more than I'm already doing.  I lose my patience so easy these days because I'm so worried about Kaitlyn not napping and therefore not getting enough time to grow and develop.  I feel like a horrible mommy.  My son won't eat anything and he wakes up super early...my daughter won't nap and is not her normally happy self.  I feel very disconnected from myself and my life.  Can someone please offer some advice?  I'm not looking for a debate on sleeping or feeding schedules, just some helpful things I could try.  Thanks so much. 

Not so sure I'll be working out tonight as I had originally planned this morning when everything seemed much more possible.

1 comment:

  1. awwww honey! i'm here and i'm listening!

    my first child was so anti-nap, i DROVE AROUND for 2-3 hours a day. my gas bill was soooooooo horribly high.

    i don't have any tips, though. i guess i would try just leaving her in there for like a half hour. i don't know. are you against the whole "let them cry" thing? i was until baby no. 2. now i just let him cry for a while. most of the time he will go to sleep, but sometimes he doesn't. my 5 year old and i hide in the basement and play the wii so the crying isn't as loud. i know it sounds mean, but i feel like i have to give him the chance to go to sleep, since he needs it so badly.

    one thing that really helped us in the nap category (and it took a period of time) was to play a certain lullaby CD (Fisher Price rainforest music. it's great!) every single night when i put the baby to bed. then, when i put him down for a nap, i start that same cd. it's like a "cue" to help him realize it's time for sleeping. doesn't always work, but i feel like it helped. i also put a quilt over his window to make the room really dark, and that has helped greatly, both at bedtime and naptime. also, i have been VERY strict about a 7:30 bedtime, and i try to get the nap within a two-hour window between 11:30 and 1:30 (he recently dropped to one nap a day rather than 2. it WAS a 9:30 or 10 a.m. nap then another one around 1:30 or 2).

    so, the combo of the CD, the dark room and the consistency with nap and bed time has actually helped a great deal. it took a few weeks but i swear it was worth it. now most days i can just put him in his crib and say go to sleep and close the door and he does. before, he would fight a nap with everything he had, even though he was tired.

    i did let him cry at bedtime but it only took a couple nights and he cried for only about 10 minutes. i'd reassure him from outside the door, and if he cried longer than 10 minutes, i'd go in every 10 or so, make sure he hadn't thrown his paci or anything, give him a drink of water and tell him to go night-night.

    i guess, in all, it was mainly about consistency, which is a crappy answer because we, as moms, just want them to sleep NOW!

    Anyway, that's what worked for me.

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