Friday, May 8, 2009

shifting

Dear Blog: It's been 6 days since my last entry. I'm typing quickly as my moments of lucidity have been coming in 5 min waves lately. My babes haven't been sleeping well and neither have I. This is normal for Little Dude but for LittleR Dude it is far from it.

LittleR Dude seems to be going through a shift. The nights where I can plop him in his crib awake and not hear from him until the next morning feel long gone. Replacing my awesome sleeper is a toddler who morphs into cling-wrap the moment I take him near his crib. When I've finally coaxed him into releasing his vise-like grip around my neck and have laid him down, he allows me to sit on the rocking chair while he relaxes himself into deep sleep. Any attempts to sneak out of the room before he is fully asleep will be met with ear-splitting, heart-wrenching cries. We repeat this process 2-3 times a night and by 6:30 he is ready to start his day.

It feels like all the makings of separation anxiety but why now after months of being the most perfect sleeper imaginable?

Yesterday, he woke up from his nap in full tantrum mode. He was utterly inconsolable. He did not want to be picked up nor did he seem to want to be in his crib. I held him in my arms because it made me feel better. Because I didn't know what else to do. It felt like an eternity before he finally stopped screaming and was hiccupping and sobbing more quietly in my lap.

It wasn't that long ago when the sight of me would make him stop crying. I don't understand this shift. I feel helpless.

5 comments:

  1. My first daughter went through that at about 10-11 months of age. I never figured out what made it happen, and she didn't really grow out of it until about 3.5 when her tantrums ceased.

    I really hope it's just a phase for you guys!

    (You're tough either way. It's so hard.)

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  2. It's tough going through this phase as he is too young to tell you what's wrong with him and all we could do is just be there - hang in there! Do you think he is in pain or colicky? My son went into this phase at 2 months and we found out he had double hernia and needed surgery

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  3. I feel for you! Don't have any words of wisdom, but usually the wisdom lies within the parents of the kiddo in question anyway. Are you much of a reader of parenting books? I used to be, and I always found the Touchpoints book by Dr. Brazelton interesting for things like you're describing. He has a nice way of putting things into perspective, not necessarily offering solutions but offering understanding of developmental changes, and how! Good luck. I hope it passes soon.

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  4. Oh you poor thing. Sleep deprivation is a killer. Could he be teething?? I always put sleepless nights down to teething. Or has anything changed - temperature of the room/light, etc...? I'm sure it's just a phase though. Try not to get too down x

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  5. Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. Littler Dude seems to have settled into a good routine after the Good Man has taken over the boys' bedtime routine (though he is still waking up at 6 - 6:30 in the morning ... an hour earlier than usual). I have a collection of parenting books but not Dr Brazelton's, Jenny. I'll have to pick his up the next time I'm at the bookstore.

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