At about 5:00 this morning, I woke up to Nash crying and yelling, "Mama Mama Mama!" I'm not convinced that he really knows what that means, but regardless, he was calm when I held him. I rocked him and let him cry himself back to sleep a few times (only a minute of crying each time), but he kept waking up. Finally, I just brought him in bed with me and we slept for another hour and a half.
So this is my dilemma--what do you do when your baby (who is usually a fabulous night-time sleeper) wakes up at night like that? It's my inclination to make sure that nothing is wrong. However, most of the time nothing is wrong and then I get into a cycle of him expecting me to hold him that night or he'll cry. And I guess I'm not always totally sure that nothing's wrong because how am I supposed to know if he's cold or if his tummy hurts or if he has an earache or something like that?
I don't think there really is an answer to my questions, but I'm still at a loss for what to do in situations as these. I do have to say that I adore my son and it is such a good feeling to hold him when he cries and see him calm down almost instantly because I'm there.
To end with a couple more positives:
* Nash has a consistent schedule now! Nighttime sleep is from 7:30 to 7:30. He has two naps: one at 9:30 and the other at 1:30.
* His naps are finally longer! He sleeps about 1-1 1/2 hours for each nap.
4 comments:
Good question. I am a fan of crying it out for going to bed but in the middle of the night it seems so much harder to listen to the crying and not very nice of something really is wrong. Sorry I don't have any advice or answers hopefully he starts sleeping better soon.
I love hearing that cry too! What a heart warming sound (even if it is at 3:00 am).
Our goal is a lot like yours when our little guy cries at night. We check to make sure he's not hungry or cold or wet and all his needs (and a few loves) are met and then we just let him cry it out. Luckily he has only done this a couple of times, so we aren't experts either!
I would think that he is too young for night frights, but maybe he's beginning to experience them. Who knows. He is really cute and I am linking you on my blog! Angie
Lilly wakes up at night when she's teething. I have found that when I listen to the type of cry it helps. If she screams out, I'll go check on her and see if she's okay and comfort her back to sleep. However, if it's just a whimper or weak cry, I'll let her work it out and get herself back to sleep. Isn't it funny how they call "mama" when they don't feel good or they need something and they say "dada" when they're having fun. At least that's what Lilly does. It makes me feel good too when she wants her mama.
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