4 month wakeful period. AKA my new nemesis..

AshleyDehaven · May 2013

Up until a week and a half ago i had a sweet, snuggly, easy to put to sleep, wonderful, lovey baby boy. Now, i have a serious grumpelstiltskin, who fights his nap like the plague, fights going to bed like it's a UFC match, and spends the whole day discontent with things that he used to love doing. He doesn't want to snuggle as much, but he doesn't want to be left alone in say, his swing, or bouncer either. I am alone with this child all day, and i love him, believe me, this boy is my world, but holy cow can i not wait for THIS phase to be over.

On the bright sides though, he is now rolling back to front and front to back, and is sitting up almost unassisted these days so that is super exciting at least.

Is it really only Wednesday?

Christee25 · May 2013

I could have written this post...it is us to a 'T'. DS will be 16 weeks
on Sunday and this is the 4th week we've been going through it. I'm at my wits end! Yesterday was so horrendous I made my DH come home early from work. I'm not sure how much longer I can manage this. I jut want my loving sweet baby boy back...and my sanity!!

ETA I've considered sleep training b/c I'm so drained from fighing naps for literally 1 to 2 hours several times per
day. Is that horrible?

AshleyDehaven · May 2013

Christee25:
I could have written this post...it is us to a 'T'. DS will be 16 weeks on Sunday and this is the 4th week we've been going through it. I'm at my wits end! Yesterday was so horrendous I made my DH come home early from work. I'm not sure how much longer I can manage this. I jut want my loving sweet baby boy back...and my sanity!! ETA I've considered sleep training b/c I'm so drained from fighing naps for literally 12 hours several times per day. Is that horrible?

No i am pretty sure that is called survival.. I feel like such a jerk for how judgmental i was about parents who would let their LOs cry it out even a little. Now i am giving the CIO light method a try because seriously there are times where it is either let him cry alone for a couple minutes or hold him while he fights me and cry right along with him. FWIW i would kill to be able to get my H to come home early, but the Army doesn't really care how much of a terror your kid is being lol.

Christee25 · May 2013

No i am pretty sure that is called survival.. I feel like such a jerk for hownbsp;judgmentalnbsp;i was about parents who would let their LOs cry it out even a little. Now i am giving the CIO light method a try because seriously there are times where it is either let him cry alone for a couple minutes or hold him while he fights me and cry right along with him. FWIW i would kill to be able to get my H to come home early, but the Army doesn't really care how much of a terror your kid is being lol.

Wow, I cant imagine my DH being in the army and dealing w/ this! I'm not a
big believer in CIO but I bought the book Sleep Easy solution and I'm tempted to try it. I'm not sure its the right thing but it has to be better than the way were going now. Hang in there! Hugs!!

Wild_flower25 · May 2013

DD has always been hard to get down for a nap, but I found the only time she "fights" bedtime is when she's over-tired. You might want to try putting him to bed earlier to see if that helps.

dulcemariamar1 · May 2013

Yes, we have been going through this for over a week now. Super cranky, nap strike, takes forever to fall asleep at night, and wakes up at night.

I am not going to sleep train because LO can only roll in one direction and cries when she gets stuck and it was something I didnt want to do until she was closer to six months.

For now, I am just treating her like a NB. I hold her for some of her naps so I know she is getting some sleep and getting out during the day. It seems to help a bit at night.

IncogNeato · May 2013

This just started with us, too. I'm just doing the best I can.

FWIW I was very against CIO with DD1 and we tried EVERYTHING for months and months on end and nothing worked, she was exhausted, waking all the time, crying when I tried to rock her to sleep, fighting naps etc. So if DD2 starts down that road, I will at some point do CIO or Ferber because I won't let DD2 suffer like DD1 did. I mean, it was seriously awful. She just screamed in my arms for much of her first year because she couldn't go to sleep or stay asleep for long enough to get rest. Not going there again, uh uh, no way. Whatever I choose I will commit and stick to it, since wavering and giving up definitely makes it worse.

Eags · May 2013

This sounds like DS. He is fighting his naps like it's his job. And then he grumpy because he hasn't napped.

laurn321 · May 2013

My little man is much older (Feb '12), but I accidentally clicked on this board when looking for the Jan '12 board. I saw this post and had to read because the 4 month wakeful was hell for us and it made me remember that time.

Not sure if it'll be any help, but 2 things were a HUGE help for us:

1. Start the nap process sooner than you think. I came to this realization after my guy passed out in the carrier during a walk at 1 hour 35 mins after waking. I'd been putting him in his crib at 2 hours after waking so he was already overtired by then.

2. Keep an eye on how much they're eating. Leo started waking at night again during the 4 month wakeful after STTN since 6 weeks old. He was formula fed so I'm not sure how/if this would work for BF babies, but after writing his eating/sleeping habits for awhile, I increased the size of his bottles by an oz or two. The days where I increased the bottle size, he STTN again.

Between manipulating those two conditions, it was actually strangely predictable how well he'd end up sleeping. I suspect this wouldn't work for every baby, but knowing that changed my life so I hope it's some sort of help.

zonagirlie · May 2013

Ash I caution you against CIO stuff. T is not able to understand it and he'll cry nonetheless. Pp has a good idea with increasing food since you know he's eating more. It's the growth spurt. He doesn't hate you. He needs food and sleep. And starting the naps earlier might help a lot.
I can imagine you're at your wits end and I wish we were closer. Allies will help. Do you get out during the day? I find C naps better if we go out and interact. I go to the commissary weekly and go to a story song hour at the library then La leche league meeting once a month. Then I schedule dr appts once at a time rather than a bunch in one day.
I know it's silly but getting out helps.

AshleyDehaven · May 2013

zonagirlie:
Ash I caution you against CIO stuff. T is not able to understand it and he'll cry nonetheless. Pp has a good idea with increasing food since you know he's eating more. It's the growth spurt. He doesn't hate you. He needs food and sleep. And starting the naps earlier might help a lot. I can imagine you're at your wits end and I wish we were closer. Allies will help. Do you get out during the day? I find C naps better if we go out and interact. I go to the commissary weekly and go to a story song hour at the library then La leche league meeting once a month. Then I schedule dr appts once at a time rather than a bunch in one day. I know it's silly but getting out helps.

I know, i hate it believe me. And i probably over stated my willingness. What i meant is that sometimes i will let him fuss or cry for a couple minutes to regain my barrings cool down, and pull myself together. I'm on zoloft for depression, and i am thinking about asking them to up my dosage because those bad feelings are starting to creep back. It is so hard being alone all the time, i have friends here but they're the facebook variety KWIM? I tried taking T out on walks for a while but it is so damn hot out that it makes both of us miserable. T cries after just a couple minutes now when he used to love our walks (i hate texas omg). And E has the car so i can't just run errands with him, and hell, TBH i don't even have a license so the car would do me no good anyways. I know i need to get out with him, and i know we need to meet friends and be social, but it is hard to get motivated to go. Bluh.. Mom of the year huh?

doyleme · May 2013

Deep breath, momma. We hit this as well. I wouldn't say we are out of the woods but you learn how to cope. Do you have a baby carrier, like an Ergo or Becco or moby? I found that wearing baby during the fuss periods helped and he even would doze off. Some would discourage letting them sleep in the carrier, but you gotta do what works. At night, I find a warm bath and nursing or feeding in the tub helps yes, I get in the tub too. Sometimes a change of scenery helps. Perhaps a baby pool in the backyard?

4 month wakeful period. AKA my new nemesis..

Re: 4 month wakeful period. AKA my new nemesis..

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