Cutting teeth

It's been a sleepless week or so over here, as the Babe is cutting both her front teeth at the same time. I feel as though I'm walking around in a haze; the most consecutive sleep I've had in about two weeks is three hours. Friends have commented that I seem a little off, and I feel a lot off.

It sucks going to bed every night filled with dread, instead of relief. Wondering how long you've got until those piercing wails wake you up. Hoping tonight is the night your baby decides to join the club of sleeping through the night, only to be disappointed. We had a good thing going for awhile there, only one or two quick feeds in the night and then back to sleep. But now with the teeth, it seems we have entered a new phase of 1am party time. I'm not having it. It's not party time. It's sleep time. Get the memo Babe and go back to sleep.

This lack of sleep is also doing wonders for my marriage. It is hard not to be snippy to one another, just because we're so damned tired. I'm hopeful that once these two top teeth fully break through that some sleep is in our cards. Fingers crossed.

~ H

What happened to my sleeping child

And who is this night beast that replaced her? A week or so ago, we had our nighttime routine down pat. Bath, feed, sometimes story and then bed. Usually met with little to no fuss. One dream feed at 10:30ish and a wake up feed between 1-4 and up at 7:30am. Yes, I could handle that.

Now we have bath, feed, sometimes story and the first putdown. Forty-five minutes later comes the first scream. Pick up, comfort, put down. Nope, that didn't soothe her. Let's try more food. Okay, bedtime for real this time. Forty-five minutes later we repeat the process. Then two hours later. Then forty-five minutes after that. Again and again until 5am when resistance is futile and I pull the Babe into bed with me, more for my sake than hers.

Growth spurt? Probably. Teething? Most likely. Five-month sleep regression? I really hope not. But how do tell which one it is, if any? Wait it out? Beg her to sleep? Go back three steps and set the bassinet up in our room again? No! Not the last one. I am determined to keep our room an adult-only zone between the hours of 10pm-7am from now on. Should the actions from me be different if it's a growth spurt as opposed to regression? Egads, why don't they come with manuals?

Wish me luck on the sleep front...

~ H

Amber necklace vs. teething drops

This is my first interactive post where I'm looking for feedback. Ask your friends, your mom, your teacher, whoever, for suggestions on easing teething in little babies. And then tell me! The babe is in full teething mode and is having some serious mood swings and sleep issues, both of which I believe are tied to the teething.

Last night I fed her to the brim and between boobs I even added some infant Advil to ease the pain and hopefully carry her through the night. Did. Not. Work. We were up every two hours until 7:00 a.m. This cannot go on, for her sake and for the sake of my sanity and my marriage. So I am taking suggestions. Any suggestions. Even if they sound crazy, as long as they aren't harmful to the babe.

~ H