We've just had a really weird few days with Emily where she hasn't slept as well as she usually does, day or night. Days are never amazing, but she usually has 4 little 1 hour sleeps (give or take) which at least gives me a chance to do stuff, like housework! My husband would be so pleased that that is what I choose to do when she is asleep (most of the time)! But some days this past week have only been tiny catnaps of 30 - 40mins max and she simply would not go back to sleep after waking.
Hmmm.... I have heard (but not read much/researched) about the dreaded 4 - 5 month sleep regression that some babies can go through because their little bods and brains are developing super fast and they wake up fully between sleep cycles rather than just stirring between them like she used to do. I wonder if this is what it is? And if it is, how do we stay sane?
We got a blissful 4 nights in a row of full sleep recently, like FULL nights from 6pm-7am. Wow! What an angel we thought and every night she goes down, it's like a million dollar guessing game of when will she wake up, or will she sleep through like this? Sadly it lasted just those blissful 4 nights in a row and then the weird wake ups started. Before that she managed 3 nights in a row, but in-between the 3; and 4 night stints, there were one or two nights of waking once for a snack. One wake up a night is ok. Any more and how on earth do you function?
I must have been running on adrenaline in the early days as Emily woke heaps at night for the first 3 weeks or so. Those were definitely the toughest days, for sure. You need to know everything. Yesterday. And that is impossible. And I still question what her noises and cries mean now, and she is 17weeks old! Plus you need to be awake enough when you are doing things that you don't fall asleep in your baby's nappy! Nothing, absolutely nothing prepares you for actually having your baby with you and looking after her. Seriously. It's definitely a learning on the job, with not a lot of training type of experience! I am very lucky to have both my Mom and mother-in-law a phone call away for all sorts of questions and advice, plus lovely neighbours who have recently been through it themselves that I can ask questions.
So last night when she woke a little after I went to bed, exhausted, I shuffled into the dining room half asleep, like a zombie and asked my tired husband to help see if she was ok. Surely she couldn't be hungry? I fed her for close to 1.5hours in the evening? Gosh. Growth spurt I am thinking (I am not entertaining the sleep regression theory, she loves to sleep and does a pretty decent job of it!). He was unsuccessful. Only Mum would do. I nearly fell asleep feeding, and then we were at it again only a few hours later. Seriously, did I really wake up so much when she was tiny? I must have. And I must have coped ok. I can kind of remember those days!
So when she went for her morning nap today, I did too. Something I haven't done much of at all actually. And she slept for 2 hours, wow!! That is unlike her for sure. Then your mind races, did we do too much yesterday (possibly); did I put her down too early last night (not likely); is she just plain hungry and growing (definitely)? And could it just have been one of those days? Hopefully.
Well she is waking now so I better go check on her. Lunch time for Emily! And here's to a decent night hopefully!
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