It went really well actually. Makeda slept in her car seat a lot of the way there and back. We had lunch at 2 different wineries with nary a squawk of protest from her. She was happy to be in her stroller when we went for walks around the property. The only thing is - in my world, vacations are for sleeping in. That is my firmly held belief. And much as I love my daughter, 5:30am is not a sleep-in. To make things worst, although she has always slept through the night since I brought her home, she's now stopped doing it. For the past week, she has woken up between midnight and 4am, with the last few nights settling at 3 to 3:30am. Have I mentioned that I have no significant other to trade off with me on this bit of nastiness? And this is not a wake-up, accept a soft word and a kiss from mommy, go back to sleep kind of waking up. This is a full-on- ready-to-party wake up that even an hour of rocking will not resolve. Complete with chatter mode, at high volume. And it carried on, throughout said vacation. Rock her from 3:30 to at least 4:30, get back to sleep in time for the 5:30 bottle call.
Auntie Leslie is a patient woman, and I did my best to keep her occupied so as to lessen the chatter volume, with some success, but at the cost of almost no sleep for me. Which brings me back to my first point - it's not a vacation, just a change of scenery. But on balance, one that I'd do again. Here we are starting off. You can't see all the dogs, but this is Auntie Leslie tucking in Makeda in the middle, with Ruff and Widget sharing the left seat, and Riley in the right seat.
11 comments:
Sofia wakes up in the middle of the night, I simply take her into the spare bed and lay her beside me. The bed is pushed up against the wall and since I'm on the outside she's got now where to go. She can roll around, sing, playing with anything that is attached to her being or mine and I can close my eyes. The only rules are she is not allowed to have toys, she has to be lying down (no sitting or standing), and I do not talk to her, look at her, or otherwise interact with her unless it's to return her to a laying down position. I almost always fall back asleep before she does.
My theory is that if they are rewarded with our time (cuddling, rocking, singing, kisses, etc) then it will be come a habit. I'm not sure if you were looking for advice but I hope that it might help you. Sofia doesn't wake up every night anymore, it's become random... Good luck!
Silly you. Now you know so get over it and the change of scenery can continue. I'm glad to hear you had a great time and of course some wine!
It looks and sounds like you two, er, I mean, 6, had a really good time! luvauntiemare.
Good on ya! I think it definitely takes some bravery the first trip out. ANTME's mom is an inspiration.
I'm with you on the sleeping in thing - why can't that kid understand the word "VACATION"??!!
Thanks Alicia. Yes, I'm always looking for advice. And last night was better. I turned the humidifier on since she has another cold, and that may have helped some as well.
wow - we must be living in parallel universes... Elsa, who used to be a sleep-through-the-night champ, has woken up between 2 and 4 for the last 10 nights or so. And then waking up for good at 5:30. So, girl, I feel your pain!!
Much of it, I'm sure, was due to her being sick. Bt she's feeling better now, and stil doing it. GAH.
I do find that the humidifier does help, both for the humidity and the white noise.
And I'm with Alicia - as little interaction as possible so as not to "reward" the middle of the night wakenings. Last night in fact, I ignored it waiting for the babbling to turn into crying. And it never did! So although I was awake the whole time, I was in my bed and she stayed in hers.
Hang in there - I know the sleep deprivation is brutal.
My boy, for the first year of his life, thought that nighttime was the same thing as an all night buffet! He snacked probably 6 or 7 times a night, and though he was easily soothed back to sleep, this, along with his early rising was enough to wear me right out. Eventually I became accustomed to sleep deprivation. However, after he turned one, I cut him off from any night action and you can console yourself that night wakes do pass. The five thirty mornings, however, I'm still trying to deal with!
It does sound wonderful, even for just road trip purposes. You crack me up with "nary a squawk"...lol!
Cindy
Count yourself lucky that M has slept through the night until now! We had 2-4 wake ups every night for the first 6 months home. Pass the toothpicks please, my eyes were barely open. I agree with Alicia, do the minimum to get her back to sleep and don't take her out of her crib if you can. I totally relate to going on vacation with your sweetheart. Sounds like she did well overall! A change of scenery is good!
Just when I think I've got my girls' waking up in the middle of the night schedule figured out, they switch it up. But it always involves two times per night each, so far. I hear it doesn't last forever, so, good luck! Congrats to Makeda on the hustling and crawling! And being so cute its crazy.
Re: your comment on my blog, its not a TV in the background, its National Public Radio. TV news? I'm raising these girls to be democrats! All NPR all the time.
I must say it was very easy for me to be patient -- I barely heard her during the early morning frolics. Now, seeing grumpy mommy Barb first thing in the morning, well, that just made me make the coffee faster!
Next time - Tofino!
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